Hearth & Home
by Milesperhour
Summary: When it's simultaneously Etcetera's 16th and 18th birthday, she has a hundred questions on her mind... but the most burning question surrounds her blossoming attachment to Rumpleteazer. Expect humour, romance, angst and thievery, as well as guest appearances from most of the Jellicles!
1. The Party

**Note:** Expect the usual brand of comedy and angst. Special thanks to **pouncii **for her endless support and regular stream of ingenious ideas, and if you haven't already, I highly recommend reading **Wicked Games** (after you're done here, of course). Rated T for reasons.

–

It was simultaneously Etcetera's sixteenth and eighteenth birthday.

That may be quite a strange thing to explain.

Of course it could not technically be _both_ her sixteenth and eighteenth birthday. Yet nobody could be quite sure which one it was, so they had settled on simply celebrating both at once and leaving it at that. The fact that nobody seemed to care enough to keep track of Etcetera's age as she grew up was not something new to her, nor something that surprised her.

And it was not something she could blame them for, either.

Etcetera, like many others, did not know her parents. The Jellicles had accepted so many kittens into their tribe that parentage had never been an issue to the majority of the tribe. And considering that Jennyanydots and Jellylorum acted as maternal figures to many of the kittens, they could hardly be expected to keep track of everyone's specific age, could they?

Was it particularly _fair _that Etectera was more or less the only cat whose age remained a mystery? Not really, but then there was nothing to be done about it. Jennyanydots was sure that Etcetera was sixteen, and Jellylorum was sure that Etcetera was eighteen. This had been going on ever since Etcetera's joint tenth and twelfth birthday. Six years of being two ages. This was what she had to put up with.

So on the evening of her latest birthday(s), Etcetera accepted that she was either sixteen or eighteen. Fine. That was just _fine_. There was a small gathering for her, even a few gifts from some of her friends. Not that anyone was what she would describe as a 'close' friend. Nor a 'best' friend. Just friends.

The real question that was beginning to bore into Etcetera's mind was what her 'thing' was going to be. And that is why, on Etcetera's birthday, she took it upon herself to talk to those cats in the tribe that had quite defined 'things'.

Skimbleshanks, for example, was the _Railway _cat. That was his thing. He loved trains, everyone knew he loved trains and he could not stop talking about trains. Sometimes scotch. Usually trains.

"Wee lass, happy birthday to ye." Skimbleshanks spoke with a wide grin, offering Etcetera a hug which she dutifully accepted. "Are you eighteen now?"

Etcetera smiled and shook her head. "I could be sixteen still, I dunno." She folded her arms, feeling a slight chill in the evening air. The sun was beginning to set and the Jellicles were all beginning to make their way into the middle of the Junkyard to give Etcetera some well-wishes. "I was wondering – when did you know you were the _train _cat- I mean, trains. No. Uhm, railways-" She blushed and covered her face with her paws.

"Ach, you're haivering like me after my third drop of scotch!" Skimbleshanks laughed as he patted her on the shoulder. "I always knew I loved trains. I've been telling conductors how to do their job since I was a wee kitten! But what you got to remember lass, is life... life is like a railway. Some cats are like those trains you hear about in Japan, the fast ones that fly like bullets from a gun! And some cats like your ol' uncle Skimble are like steam engines. Sure, we aren't fast like those new-fangled machines they've got over in the Orient, but we've got character and charm and we..."

See? _Skimbleshanks could not stop talking about trains._ After a little while, Etcetera realised that she really did not understand the Railway Cat at all, and found herself no closer to knowing anything than when she started. Though Skimbleshanks did offer her a small glass of scotch as a present, which she hesitantly consumed. Skimbleshanks claimed it tasted of the cherry-oak interior of an original 1923 steam locomotive. Etcetera thought it tasted of ash.

She swiftly moved on to receive well-wishes from other cats in the community. As the night progressed, Etcetera found herself embroiled in conversation with all manner of cats. The great Bustopher Jones brought her a wonderful gift of a birthday meal, comprised of cabbage, rice pudding and mutton. Suffice to say, Etcetera did not look 'full of gloom' after that. Yet no matter what she asked him, she could not find any answer to how he became the _Cat About Town_. He simply was.

Etcetera spoke to the _magical _Mr. Mistoffelees, though once again that proved to bring her no closer to understanding how he became 'magical'. He felt it was something inherent, and offered her sage advice by suggesting that her 'thing' did not matter. But then again, as far as Etcetera was concerned, it really did. Mistoffelees was not to know that Etcetera wanted something to describe herself so badly that she was beginning to get depressed.

Everyone had something, as far as she could tell. Jennyanydots was the _Gumbie _cat. Gus was the _Theatre _cat. Even Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer were a _notorious _couple of cats.

Etcetera did not have an adjective to describe herself. She had tried a few times to get noticed, but the only thing that had ever worked was screaming at the top of her lungs when near the Rum Tum Tugger. And even that was hardly a 'thing'. She did not want to be the _groupie _cat, and had since stopped being quite so over-excited when around Tugger.

As far as Etcetera was concerned, whenever she looked in the mirror all she saw was Etcetera: The _Nobody _Cat.

She had friends, though she could hardly call any of them 'close' friends, let alone _best _friends. Just friends. Lots of 'just friends'. This had begun to bother her. Victoria and Mistoffelees seemed to be _best _friends. There were so many cats that just 'went together', like Pouncival and Tumblebrutus, Tantomile and Coricopat, Demeter and Bombalurina... the list went on. Sure, some of those were siblings, but it did not change the fact that Etcetera wanted that kind of closeness in her life. She wanted someone whose name immediately followed hers.

For a long, long time, Etcetera had truly believed that the Rum Tum Tugger would be the cat everyone associated with her. But that was not how things had turned out, instead she had simply become the cat that endlessly bothered him and got nothing in return. She was tired of 'nothing in return', especially after it had worked so awfully to her detriment.

A few months earlier, Etcetera had almost completely gotten away from her attachment to Tugger and even had a brief 'thing' with Pouncival. The problem? In a strange moment of jealousy, Tugger had convinced her to stop hanging out with Pouncival. As it turned out, the moment she obediently followed Tugger's orders, he completely lost interest in her again. She found herself unable to convince either tom to find her interesting again and suddenly she went from having two cats liking her to no cats liking her. That was a decision that kept her awake at night.

Pouncival still wanted to be friends, of course, but he had moved on. He wanted to be friends like everyone wanted to be friends. Nobody wanted to be _best _friends.

After all, who would want to be best friends with _T__he __N__obody __C__at_?

Certainly, Etcetera's parents had not been interested in continuing their relationship with her past childbirth. She had been found as a tiny kitten, alone in a box in an alleyway, shivering and crying. Jellylorum once told Etcetera that she had no parents because she was an unwanted kitten. Unwanted. It was relatively common in the Junkyard, many of the cats there did not know their parents, but that fact did not make it any easier. Those who _did _know their parents seemed so much happier to Etcetera. She wanted parents. She wanted someone to tuck her in at night who truly loved her.

Not the kind of love that Jennyanydots or Jellylorum showed her. They were two cats that spent most of their time looking after the various kittens and teaching them good values, letting them know they were loved. It was a generic love. It was not a bespoke love. Not the specific, unique, individual love that Etcetera yearned for.

It was hard for the queen to really describe her feelings. She did not even truly know her age; as noted before, Jellylorum was certain that Etcetera was 16 whilst Jennyanydots was equally certain that Etcetera was 18. Or was it the other way around? Either way, the arbitrary date on the calendar that had been prescribed as her 'birthday' had been fast approaching for a while – May 15th. The day that Etcetera became the first Jellicle in history to simultaneously celebrate both her sixteenth _and _eighteenth birthdays at once. Of course, she had been the first Jellicle in history to celebrate her tenth and twelfth birthdays at once, her eleventh and thirteenth birthdays at once, her twelfth and fourteenth birthdays at once...

"Happy Birthday, young soldier." Munkustrap chuckled as he placed his paw on Etcetera's shoulder. It had been a long day for her, she had spoken to almost every cat in the tribe. Only a few had not managed to see her, one of which being the protector himself. "You are now literally eighteen. Well done. I'm impressed."

"Yup..." Etcetera shrugged away the fact that nobody seemed capable of remembering that she might actually be sixteen, and glanced at the paw on her shoulder. "Are you hitting on me? Because, y'know, I wouldn't say 'no'..." She laughed and Munkustrap almost immediately withdrew his paw.

"Don't be a child." He snapped, folding his arms. "Especially now that you're eighteen - in which case, I have a wonderful present for you... you get to start contributing to the tribe! Hooray!" Munkustrap grinned a beaming smile and unfolded his arms to give Etcetera two thumbs-up.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh my _days_, Munkustrap. I was warned about this."

"Warned about what?" Munkustrap's tone was infectiously upbeat. He appeared very positive, holding himself in a manner that reflected his patter. "Finally, Etcetera, you get to be a _big _part of this tribe! I am going to go back to my den, have a long think, and return to you tomorrow with a whole list of things you can do – oh wait, _I did that already_."

Munkustrap produced a sheet of paper from behind his back. It was rolled up and tied together with a bow, giving it the appearance of a scroll. "Like I said, happy birthday!" He handed the paper to Etcetera, who begrudgingly accepted and opened it up.

The paper was complicated. It contained around twenty different roles and duties that Munkustrap felt could help or otherwise improve the tribe – 'nightwatchcat', 'den fixer-upper' and the ominously-named 'Jennyanydots assistant' were the top three. Etcetera had only read half of the duties before Munkustrap spoke again, interrupting her dumbfounded silence.

"Etcetera. There is literally nothing that would please me more than to listen to you think. However, I have about a billion things I have to do before I go to bed, including run a short half-marathon to keep up my stamina. Anyway, have fun with the list, decide on something you like, and tomorrow you can come see me to talk about it! Et-ceter-ceter-ceter-rah! See you tomorrow!"

And with that, he was off.

As Etcetera watched Munkustrap jog away, she considered that he was far more odd than she had ever given him credit for. She inwardly sighed, the day was almost over. A few more cats came to give Etcetera some gifts before the night-time air got too cold (it was Winter, after all), which included a particularly bizarre gift from Coricopat – a Corico Pat. As he explained numerous times, a 'Corico Pat', is a high-five from Coricopat. He claimed they were incredibly rare, but then immediately offered one to Tantomile, who rolled her eyes and gave Etcetera a hug.

Etcetera immediately took back all the things she had thought about Munkustrap being weird. If he was a bit strange, the Twins were beyond mad. Still, a high-five (sorry, 'Corico Pat') and a hug were better than nothing and she was grateful to receive all well-wishes. By the time most of the tribe had retreated to their dens, Etcetera caught herself acting strangely too.

Sat on the tyre in the middle of the Junkyard, Etcetera looked up at the night sky and wondered what she had been expecting to happen today. She was either 16 or 18-years-old, she reckoned that meant there was a fifty-fifty chance that she was now an adult... and yet the answers to the questions on her mind where not forthcoming. No big solution, no higher plan. Just plain old Etcetera, one step closer to death.

She made a mental note to stop being quite so dramatic.

With a big stretch, Etcetera sat up and got to her feet, giving the Junkyard one last survey before heading back to her den. It was nothing much, she hardly spent any time there. Certainly she never had any visitors, and the tiny bed in her tiny den was only just about big enough for her.

So one can only imagine the surprise that rocketed through Etcetera's mind when she entered her den to find a queen sat cross-legged on her bed – Rumpleteazer.

"Happy birthday!" The intruder exclaimed with a loud voice, jumping to her feet. "Sorry for just coming in here like whatever, but you were being all mopey on that tyre and I figured I'd just wait for you somewhere warm. That's okay, right? I'm really good at opening locks."

Etcetera had to bite her lip to stop herself from screaming.

"I mean, I didn't break your lock or anything, I just opened it because I'm really good at that, that's like my thing or whatever," Rumpleteazer continued. "So I've just been sat here with your present, waitin' for you to rock on by. You have no idea how bored I am! You don't even have anythingin here I'd want to steal and my kleptomania is driving me _crazy_!"

Etcetera did not laugh.

"Okay, uhm, that was a joke, and you haven't said anything yet." Rumpleteazer spoke to the silent cat opposite her.

Etcetera stared for a moment, her mouth agape. It took a little while for the words to formulate properly, but eventually when she did speak, it was something along the lines of: "Nobody ever comes in here ever..."

"Oh my gosh Et-cet-trah take the darn present, and have a happy sixteenth-eighteenth birthday already!" Rumpleteazer repeated in her broad London accent, holding out the gift once again.

Just when Etcetera was convinced that this day could not get anymore confusing.


	2. The After-Party

"You remembered." Etcetera said with a look of absolute shock on her face after the words eventually registered. This, of course, seemed very strange to Rumpleteazer, who gave Etcetera a raised eyebrow as she stepped closer to hand over the gift.

"Of course I remembered." Rumpleteazer said simply. "I mean, I told you earlier, didn't I? Like, how it's your birthday? And then there's the fact that I'm _literally right now _giving you the thing I got you I mean _seriously_, Et-ceh-trah_._" She held the present in her paws, obscuring it between them as she offered it to Etcetera. Whatever it was, it was small.

"No, I mean you... wait..." Etcetera looked at Rumpleteazer's closed paws, now even more confused about what the other queen could possibly have gotten her. "No, I... augh, _you _remembered it's two birthdays I'm having today. Everyone else just thinks I'm eighteen but you remembered it's both. I know that's really weird and stupid and stuff but I can't believe anyone pays enough attention to me to even possibly realise that."

"Okay, okay, stop teasing me." Rumpleteazer stuck out her tongue at Etcetera, assuming her words were loaded with playfulness rather than brutal honesty. "Now shut your eyes and hold out your paws, okay?" With those words, Rumpleteazer placed the small object into Etcetera's outstretched paws and took a small step back. "Happy sixteenth-eighteenth birthday! You're both today! Woo!"

Etcetera managed to stifle a small laugh as she slowly opened her eyes. "You got _me _something? I mean loads of cats didn't get me anything Coricopat gave me a high-five but that's okay because I'm nobody, you really shouldn't... _oh my God it's sparkly_." It was. The moment Etcetera's eyes were wide open, she could properly look at the gift.

"It's a necklace." Rumpleteazer beamed. It was quite different to the pearl necklace around her own neck – this one was made from a long black string, with a shiny pendant at the end. To a human the pendant would have been tiny, but to a cat it was the perfect size. It should perhaps also be noted that the pendant rather oddly took the shape of a dragon. "Do you like dragons?" Rumpleteazer asked with a smile. "You look like someone who likes dragons. I feel like that's you."

"I now literally _adore _dragons." Etcetera grinned widely as she examined it in her paws. It looked amazing. The pendant was a shiny metallic silver, though it was very light. It fit comfortably in her paw, which was rather odd. There would be basically no human use for this, which suggested it had been made by a cat. Unusual, to say the least. "Can you put it on me?" Etcetera asked briskly, pressing it into Rumpleteazer's paws again. That was not a request.

Rumpleteazer laughed and did as she was asked, stepping toe-to-toe with Etcetera and reaching forward to tie the necklace around her neck. Etcetera felt slightly awkward from the sudden close proximity that she was in no way used to, and in a moment of confusion spoke: "You would look amazing with long hair."

"Oh really?" Rumpleteazer replied as she began to tie the necklace up, standing rather incredibly close. Her arms rested lightly around Etcetera's neck in what was an odd simulation of a hug, which only caused Etcetera to feel a blush of heat pour down her body at the unspoken intimacy. She had never hugged someone in her own den before. Etcetera genuinely could not remember the last time another cat was even in her den, let alone a moment of closeness like this.

"Yeah, long hair." She mustered despite the waterfall of thoughts that rushed inside her head. "Uhm... I could imagine you with long hair, you'd be really pretty with-"

"You mean I'm not really pretty right now? How rude." Rumpleteazer smirked as she finished tying the final bow, leaning past Etcetera's shoulder to make sure it was tied correctly – but that movement proved to be a catalyst.

Etcetera completely misunderstood, wrapped her arms tightly around Rumpleteazer and hugged.

Rumpleteazer knew almost immediately that it was not a normal hug. Etcetera's embrace was like a snap decision in its spontaneity and a vice-grip in its tightness. A few things began to add up in Rumpleteazer's mind – the small den and single bed, for example – and she decided that the best thing to do would be to allow the tied-up necklace to rest on Etcetera's neck, drop her arms to her waist and simply hug back.

It was a very quiet moment shared between the two queens. Neither said anything, and neither knew what would make sense to say. As surprised as Rumpleteazer was by the hug, Etcetera was dumbfounded. But the words fell out of her mouth faster than she could stop them, and without any warning there was no going back. "I'm sorry... I just didn't think I'd ever get another chance to hug someone in my den." She said quietly, though the flush of embarrassment that followed her ridiculous words immediately made her regret them.

Rumpleteazer made a face and patted Etcetera on the back before breaking the hug. "Tough day." She said quickly, as though that was a reasonable excuse and they could both pretend that never happened. "Well... anyway. Look at the necklace! What a helpful distraction!" The awkwardness was unsettling.

Etcetera laughed nervously and touched the necklace, which made her feel good about herself despite the way she had shown her appreciation. But in regards to this day as a whole, all of the problems and worries and fears – this made up for it, this felt as if she was on the right path.

Rumpleteazer smiled and paused awkwardly, half-glancing at the door and then back at the queen opposite her. Everything had suddenly become rather strange, with another moment of silence falling as their conversation stuttered.

"Okay." Etcetera said with a deep breath. "If you're thinking about going, that's cool, but maybe I should just say some words first because you don't know how much I appreciate this."

Rumpleteazer laughed. "Oh, I feel like that weird hug thing we just did gives me some idea. But seriously, it's just a necklace-"

"Okay, actually, shut up though." Etcetera had a half-smirk that tried to obscure the very serious look on her face. "You're like... I don't know what's going on right now but you're like the only cat who remembered I've got two birthdays. Everyone else was all like, 'oh, happy eighteenth' or whatever, then you rock up and actually remember something about me like you even care, and then you gave me the best present I've ever got in my whole life and seriously I don't know what this is about or anything but I really feel like you should-"

"_Dude_." Rumpleteazer reached forward and grabbed Etcetera's shoulders, effectively silencing her with the shock of physical contact again. She stifled a giggle at the ridiculousness of it all and glanced at the closed door, then back to the queen she was shushing. "Why d'you think I made you that necklace?" She said with a warm smile, her paws lazily tracing down Etcetera's arms. "You're kinda _pretty_. And by 'kinda', I mean, 'super'."

Etcetera, completely dumbfounded by the words that had just been spoken at her, managed to say absolutely nothing. She stared at Rumpleteazer as though she had just solved an unsolvable mystery, a kind of amazement and utter shock at those words. Nobody had ever told her that before. Not in that way. Not with that kind of loaded meaning.

Rumpleteazer naturally did not know how to respond to silence, and half-worried that this was a kind of silent rejection, she offered an idea.

"Come round mine tomorrow." She grinned nervously and made an awkward nod, withdrawing her paws from Etcetera's arms. "I'm, uhm... We could do things. I didn't think this through very well... honestly, I only got as far as giving you the present... every time I thought about it, I'd give you the present and we'd be kissing by now." A look of abhorrent shock covered Rumpleteazer's face as a result of her own words, which she quickly covered with her paws before turning for the door.

Etcetera took a step forward and grabbed Rumpleteazer's arm, which truthfully only created a moment of further awkwardness. But this time she managed to say something, simply offering: "You _made _this necklace?"

Rumpleteazer was lost for words, she really did not know how to respond to that statement. Fortunately, she did not need to.

"And you think _I'm _pretty? Me? Have you even seen _me_?" It was like Etcetera was hearing everything on delay, only able to process the meaning behind those words a minute after they had been said.

Rumpleteazer felt herself blush and glanced to the side. "Just... just come round tomorrow, okay?"

Etcetera silently nodded and that was that – Rumpleteazer very quickly took the opportunity to leave the den and get out of there.

It was a few minutes after she had left that Etcetera processed the other things she had said, and lost in her own thoughts felt another word leave her mouth:

"...kissing?"

A few hours later, Etcetera was wide awake. Lying on her tiny bed, staring at the roof of her tiny den, she considered exactly why she could not sleep. Endlessly thinking about what tomorrow might bring, she made a loud yawn and promised herself that this was going to be a new day for her. No more _nobody _cat. Now she had a dragon necklace. Now she was going to be Etcetera: The _Dragon _Cat.

That was still _kind of _stupid, but at least it was a start.


	3. Etcetera & Rumpleteazer

**Author's Warning: There is a lot of fluff in these pages. Thanks for reading and reviewing, please keep them coming!**

A new dawn, a new day.

Well, dawn was perhaps being a little overzealous. This was more like mid-afternoon, but if you can't oversleep the day after your birthday, when can you?

Etcetera left her den with the kind of urgency usually reserved for a crisis, which in her mind this most certainly was. She had promised to visit Rumpleteazer today, yet her inability to sleep the night before had cruelly meant that when slumber finally came, it took an absolute age for it to end. In short, Etcetera was worried that she might be late. It was winter – the sun set so early that it was already getting slightly dark – and tardiness was hardly going to endear her to Rumpleteazer.

Etcetera considered how little sense that made, then resigned to stop obsessing over this. 'It'll be fine', she told herself, pushing open the door of her tiny den and braving the brisk winter air. 'This will be fine'.

"Hey, eighteen-year-old!" Munkustrap exclaimed as he clapped his paw on Etcetera's shoulder, stopping her dead in her tracks. "How are you on this incredible morning, or should I say, evening?"

Etcetera rolled her eyes. Why did he have to bother her now? She had far more important things to do. "Uhm, it's possible I'm actually sixteen, so-"

"That's as may be." Munkustrap stated as he released her. "But I have literally... been up all night – waiting to hear what you want to do to help out the tribe." He beamed and gave Etcetera a double thumbs-up.

Etcetera had almost forgotten about Munkustrap's revelation the night before. "Oh, right... your list terrified me so I haven't really thought about it much yet-"

"Nonsense! My list is anything but terrifying. In fact, it is literally the greatest list I have ever made."

"Please stop."

"No."

Etcetera sighed as she glanced to the floor, then back up at Munkustrap. "I really need to get somewhere right now, so could I please just go?"

"Hey, that's completely fine." Munkustrap nodded as he stepped out of Etcetera's way. "But if I may say, while you look incredible, perhaps you might brush your fur. Because you look like you have been asleep forever."

Etcetera glared at Munkustrap. "That is not helpful."

"Then I will be helpful!" Munkustrap chirped. He dragged his claws swiftly through Etcetera's headfur, making it substantially less ridiculous. "See, this is helpful. Hey, maybe you could be the tribe's new hairdresser. This seems like a useful public service."

Etcetera rolled her eyes as she endured the humiliation of having her fur fixed in public. "Or, maybe I could just curl up into a ball and die?"

"No, I do not think that would be particularly useful." Munkustrap finished and took a step back. "Perfect. Etcetera, you look incredible."

"Maybe you should be the tribe's new hairdresser." The queen mumbled as she stepped away from Munkustrap and turned to briskly walk the few more paces towards Rumpleteazer's den. She did not notice the beaming grin that appeared on Munkustrap's face at those words, nor his immediate dash to another nearby cat to fix their hair as well. If she had done, Etcetera would surely have rolled her eyes again. She rapped her knuckles on the door, knocking three times before it swung open.

Rumpleteazer stood in the doorway, a beaming grin on her face, a mug in her paws. "Hi Etch-cetch-ra." She said quickly as a fresh batch of nerves appeared in the pit of her stomach. "I made you this."

Etcetera looked at the mug that was being offered to her. "I- what?" She managed to say before having the cup forced into her paws. Its warmth countered the brisk weather outside. "Um... thanks?"

"You're welcome!" Rumpleteazer looked utterly relieved, almost as though she had not expected Etcetera to show up. Even though they had failed to state a time for this meet-up, it would be fair to assume that Etcetera was quite a few hours late. "So..." She started, expecting other words to follow.

"Yeah..." Etcetera trailed off with similar timing, leaving both queens in a moment of silence as they did not want to talk over each other. Etcetera made an awkward expression and glanced over Rumpleteazer's shoulder. "Uhm... can I, like... come in?"

"YES!" Rumpleteazer blurted out, the look of shock apparent on her own face at how suddenly those words had left her mouth. She grabbed Etcetera by the arm and began to lead her inside.

A light conversation came from both queens as they walked through the main door, moving into a large, open room. Perhaps the most startling quality of this room was that it was shiny – or, rather, filled with a horde of shiny objects. Etcetera suspected that the vast majority of these objects did not belong to Rumpleteazer, but felt it impolite to ask. Whatever the case, she reasoned that shiny things were cool – especially the shiny pendant that dangled around her neck.

Within minutes Etcetera was sat on a warm cushion, grasping the warm drink in her paws and feeling a lot more comfortable than before. "So... this isn't poison, right?" She asked with a small laugh.

"No! I mean, probably no. I made it but y'know I'm not completely sure if I remember making it. It's been one of those days." Rumpleteazer said with a reciprocal laugh.

Etcetera nodded along as though she had a clue what Rumpleteazer was talking about. It all sounded to her like a bunch of riddles, but then she had been asleep for so long that everything still felt a bit weird, like she had not woken up yet. Still caught in that mid-morning haze (despite it being late afternoon), Etcetera could be forgiven for her tired tone. "Is it anything in particular, or..?"

"Hot chocolate!" Rumpleteazer grinned.

"Oh. Is that nice?" Etcetera asked as she looked into the mug. It looked a kind of murky brown. Certainly it _smelled _nice, but she had long since learned that smelling good did not necessarily equal tasting good. Tugger's fur would be a prime example.

"...are you literally joking right now." Rumpleteazer's expression dropped as she cocked her head to the side, half-assuming that Etcetera was kidding. "Hot chocolate is the nicest thing in the whole world."

Etcetera laughed and shook her head. "No, if it was that nice, I'm sure I would've had lots of it by now." She lifted the mug with trepidation, bringing it close to her lips before stopping short. Something did not add up, and the realisation made her incredibly suspicious. She lowered the mug. "How is this hot?" She asked simply, looking square at Rumpleteazer.

"Uhh, because I heated it?" Rumpleteazer nodded.

"No, I mean, I'm really sorry that I've rocked up so late, but how could you possibly know when I was coming so you could give me something hot? Like, how did you possibly have a hot drink ready for me when you opened the door in like seconds?"

"...magic?" Rumpleteazer remarked with a wink.

Etcetera felt a laugh leave her lips as she glanced down at the mug. "I'm pretty much 99% confident that you can't do magic."

Rumpleteazer used the moment to move closer and sit beside Etcetera, placing her paws awkwardly in her lap. "But wouldn't it be cool though, if like, that 1% was true?"

Etcetera grinned and looked at the queen sat beside her. "It would be so cool I think I'd squeak."

"Oh, Etchcetchra... there are other ways of achieving that!" Rumpleteazer reciprocated the grin as she spoke, but almost immediately regretted her words. She felt as self-conscious as a twelve-year-old just learning about the concept of flirting. And it probably did not help that Etcetera had started laughing.

"Do you need, like, a lesson in how to say my name?" Etcetera seemed to be waking up, which was pretty much ideal considering it was almost sunset. Her widened eyes made it a whole bunch easier to read Rumpleteazer's expression, and finally it triggered that the other queen might not respond well to being laughed at. "I mean... oh God I'm sorry. That was a stupid thing to say. Like really stupid. Here I'll fix it look I'll drink the mystery drink!"

Rumpleteazer did not have a chance to respond before Etcetera brought the murky brown substance to her lips. It smelled delicious as before, but that did not necessarily mean that-

Oh.

Etcetera almost gasped with shock as she tasted the drink. Within moments she was practically pouring it down her throat, drinking the entire mug-full in one large gulp. Her face beamed with a fantastic smile, her moment of trepidation falling apart in the light of this new information. "Hot chocolate," she reasoned, "tastes absolutely bafflingly delightfully delicious."

Rumpleteazer let out a relieved laugh. "I'm glad you liked it! See? I told you it wasn't poison!"

Etcetera placed the (empty) mug on the table and turned to face Rumpleteazer, offering a sheepish sigh. "I'm sorry I went a little mean there. I'm just so awkward with this whole thing, like nobody really likes me and suddenly you're like making up for that or something."

Rumpleteazer gave Etcetera a confused look and batted her lightly on the knee. "It's okay." She said with a smile, before reaching forward for a big hug. "Seriously though, don't be laughing at me. I get enough of that from Mungo."

That was enough to make Etcetera laugh as well as she joined the hug, dropping the mug onto the pillow with a soft 'ploomp'. "I'll try my best, but I'm not promising anything... y'know, it's weird that you keep being really nice to me. Like, you made me this necklace and then you gave me that delicious drink and like... all these things you've done for me are completely amazing. I don't understand why you keep doing them but-"

"Okay, seriously, stop saying that." Rumpleteazer broke the hug and folded her arms defensively, though her paw betrayed her demeanour as she awkwardly rubbed her upper arm. "Like... I keep telling you that I like you and honestly I'm not sure I can say it any more times without knowing if you like me back."

Etcetera felt a lump in her throat at those words. It was all she could do not to leap into Rumpleteazer's arms, though nothing could prevent her from making a tiny 'squee' sound. "...uh..." She found herself momentarily lost for words, just looking at Rumpleteazer with a kind of dumbfounded excitement. Her heart was pounding. "How could I... I mean, why wouldn't... oh my God I literally like you so much it's ridiculous!"

Rumpleteazer looked utterly stunned; an expression shared by Etcetera, who could not believe the words that had just poured from her mouth. She glanced down to see that Rumpleteazer was now staring at her paws, fiddling with her thumbs to try and seem less self-conscious. It was not working, to say the least.

In an effort to break the silence that had fallen over them, Etcetera quietly offered her thoughts. "I... just don't get it. I'm sorry. But... but have you seen _me_ before? I have, in a mirror one time. I'm not someone worth being interested in, I'm really not worth all this-"

"ETCH...CETERA!" Rumpleteazer said sternly, interrupting her. "Can I just... seriously, can you just like look at me for one second?" She did. The two queens caught each others' gaze and Rumpleteazer's frustration began to melt away, the words suddenly becoming a lot easier for her. "You're _really _pretty, it's crazy like. I keep looking at you and thinking how _good _your face is. Like... your face is _really good_!" Rumpleteazer said with a laugh. "Your face." She started, leaning forward. "Is good, Etcet...trah... why can't I say your flipping name?!"

Etcetera grinned widely, shaking her head to try and stop herself from laughing.

Rumpleteazer was beaming at the sight of that smile. "Oh, you laughing 'cause I don't talk good? Et...cet...tuh...rer?" Her words only drew another laugh from Etcetera.

"You've just called me so many different things already and none of them are my name!" Etcetera's laughter was vivid. "Et-cet-rah is fine, or you could say Et-cet-ter-rah... or hell, if you really wanna go for it, you could try Et-cet-trah. That last one's trickier, but it's actually how you say my name, so..."

"Fine!" Rumpleteazer poked her tongue out and bopped Etcetera on the nose. "Then, then... you're Et-ceh... no, okay, Et-cet-treerrrr... arrrrghfine! You're Et...ty. Etty! You're Etty from now on!"

Perhaps it was the ridiculousness of it all, or perhaps it was simply that it felt good to laugh, but Etcetera fell into a set of giggles so hysterical that it became hard for Rumpleteazer not to start laughing as well. Etcetera, overcome with kittenish giggles, fell into Rumpleteazer, shaking her head at the utterly mad failure at saying her name as a few tears fell from her eyes to accompany the laughter. Rumpleteazer simply laughed as well – albeit not quite as dramatically – and fell backwards onto the cushion.

"Oh man..." Etcetera rolled onto her back, her arms spread wide as her chest heaved from heavy breathing. "Etty... oh wow... how do you even... hah!" She started giggling again, her paws quickly lifting to cover her mouth. The tears of laughter had been real as well as cathartic, an expense of energy that made everything feel so much better. All of that awkward tension had just filtered away. "If I'm Etty... then you're Teazy... or Rumpy! Haha! Oh wow! Rumpy-Teazy!"

"Oh, Rumpy-Teazy, am I?" Rumpleteazer rolled onto her knees and folded her arms at the younger queen. "If you're gonna give me a nickname, at least make it better than that. Even Mungo's called me better names, and anyway..." She flashed a grin and wiggled slightly, her body swaying from side-to-side. "...if I'm Rumpy-Teazy, then you're Ettie-Cettie!" With that, she pounced at Etcetera and started tickling her.

The giggles that poured from Etcetera's mouth must have made her sound utterly insane. "Stop! Stop!" She yelled, forcing Rumpleteazer to raise her arms in the air. After a moment of catching breath, Etcetera made a loud 'tut' sound and grabbed Rumpleteazer's side, tackling her to the cushion and straddling her waist.

"Rumpy-rump-rump!" Etcetera yelled in-amongst newfound giggles as she mercilessly tickled Rumpleteazer's sides. Her captive practically screamed with laughter as she found herself both unable to move and unable to protect herself. "You fell for that? That's the oldest trick in the book! Now I'm just gonna have to tickle you 'till you pass out, rumpy-rumpus cat!"

"Etty! Cettie! Terrie! Ra-ra!" Rumpleteazer yelped out various attempted nicknames in-between her laughter, before finally managing to grab Etcetera's wrists and hold the other queen's paws to the side. Both queens panted as they stared each other down, their chests heaving as they drew in deep breaths. Tiny giggles managed to escape their lips as they caught their breath, Rumpleteazer's grasp on Etcetera's paws loosening but not letting go. "I... had no idea... you were so strong."

"You let... me win." Etcetera said as she stuck out her tongue. Another momentary silence fell upon them as Etcetera became mildly aware of the paws around her wrists. Rumpleteazer's paws were soft and gentle, her hold was nice. This whole thing was just... nice. Etcetera allowed her eyes to wander over Rumpleteazer's body as she breathed a gentle sigh of relief that she felt so safe.

Rumpleteazer bit her lip and glanced at her paws. Was she _still _holding Etcetera's wrists? Yes. "Seriously, I didn't even. You're so... strong..." She trailed off. There was something about the moments of silence that felt so unique, Rumpleteazer could not explain why the silence seemed to enthrall her, but it probably related to why she did what she did next – with her hold releasing, Rumpleteazer's paws opened up to rest flat against Etcetera's before linking their fingers together.

Both queens stared at each other, silently daring the other to be the first to speak. Etcetera responded after a short while by closing her fingers as well, and with a moment of silence the queens both began to realise that they were holding paws. Still panting from the tickle-fight, with heightened senses and a feeling that they were sharing a 'moment', Etcetera forced herself to be daring and leaned her body forwards. They were suddenly very close, their bodies almost entwined as their faces were only inches apart.

Rumpleteazer closed her eyes.

After a few moments, she became increasingly aware that Etcetera was not kissing her. And after opening her eyes, the other queen looked so overwhelmingly nervous that Rumpleteazer had to stifle a small laugh. "It's okay, y'know." Rumpleteazer grinned. "I ain't gonna bite."

Etcetera felt frozen in time, her mind was willing but her body really did not want to move. It was almost certainly nerves. "I haven't ever really been this close to someone like this before." She admitted, referring to the way their bodies pressed together. "I'm scared."

"Wait, what?" Rumpleteazer squeezed Etcetera's paws. "Seriously? Okay, well, then... close your eyes."

Etcetera bit her lip as she followed the instruction. The second her eyes were shut, her paws were released and a pair of arms wrapped tightly around her back. The intimate hug made Etcetera blush as her eyes opened to see the wonderful joy in Rumpleteazer's eyes as they kissed.

Suddenly all of the nerves washed away. Etcetera could not conceive of why this had worried her so much – as far as she could tell, this felt amazing. Her arms began to move almost of their own volition, with her paws slinking to rest underneath Rumpleteazer's head. The kiss was over all too soon, with its brief magic leaving Etcetera speechless.

Rumpleteazer looked up into Etcetera's breathless expression, desperately attempting to decipher her emotions. When that didn't work, she breathed a little sigh and waited for Etcetera's head to catch up with her heart.

Fortunately for both of them, it did not take very long. Etcetera felt a flush turn her face a neat shade of pink before she realised exactly what was going on. "I think I just had my first kiss." She said quietly, which laid a look of shock on Rumpleteazer's face.

"What, really? Seriously?" She responded with surprise, only to give Etcetera a tight squeeze. "That's maybe the cutest thing I've ever heard anyone say in my whole life. You're the most adorable thing... I can't believe I'm your first kiss. That's insane. You totally wasted that memory on me, y'know."

That last line brought a smile to Etcetera's mouth and drew a giggle from her throat. "I still can't believe you like me." She laughed. "Now I'm going to remember you kissing me forever, and that's a lot for you to live up to. Do you think you can handle it?"

"I can try..." Rumpleteazer laughed as her paws slid around Etcetera's body, resting firmly on her shoulders. With a sudden movement she pulled Etcetera closer and brought their lips to meet again, and both queens felt their eyes close as they warmed to the kiss.


	4. It's Official

Etcetera was knitting.

Sat with Victoria, Jemima and (oddly) Pouncival, the band of kittens were doing their level best at learning to knit.

And as might have been anticipated, Etcetera was not particularly good at it.

Fortunately, this is not a story about knitting. Though if it was, we could all agree that Jennyanydots would be having a field day. As it stood, Jennyanydots was just leaving the four kittens so that she could collect one or two items from her den – and after accepting a brief promise that they would all behave themselves, Jennyanydots left them alone.

The queen had only been gone for a few seconds when Jemima swiftly dropped her knitting needles and clapped her paws together. Victoria and Pouncival quickly followed suit, and all three cats looked at Etcetera expectantly. Etcetera, who was rather confused by their actions, placed down her needles too – though nothing could have truly prepared her for what Jemima said next.

"Tell us about Rumpleteazer!" She exclaimed, causing Victoria to lift a paw to her mouth to cover a giggle.

Etcetera felt her face flush with embarrassment as she looked down at the floor. "I dunno what you're talking about..." She lied, trailing off and seeming rather guilty.

Pouncival grinned. "Okay, so, yesterday I totally saw you going into her den, because I was sat on my chair like a hero."

"Sure." Etcetera replied quickly. "But that doesn't mean-"

"And then I saw you leave there this morning."

"oh."

Victoria was trying her hardest to stifle the potential giggles as she reached forward to poke Etcetera in the arm. "So..? Did you enjoy the sleepover?"

Jemima linked arms with Victoria and poked Etcetera too. With a small laugh, she added: "What's it like being touched by a queen?"

Etcetera shook her head vividly, and looking up at both of them through a flushed face she firmly denied all accusations. "It's not like that!" She batted away Pouncival's paw to stop him from poking her too. "We didn't touch each other or anything!"

But that was such an odd choice of words. It only managed to confirm one thing, which Etcetera and Jemima picked up on immediately. "That means you did _something_!" They chimed with excited voices.

Etcetera looked between the two queens before giving a cursory glance towards Pouncival. She sighed, rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "Okay, okay." She admitted. "We kissed a little." A small smile began to form on her lips, which widened when she further admitted: "Okay, a lot."

Victoria and Jemima immediately giggled and batted at Etcetera's shoulder. "Do you liiiiike her?" Jemima grinned, though Etcetera was unable to answer as Pouncival interrupted. "Is it serious for reals? Like, for serious?"

Etcetera rolled her eyes again. "I'm like, 16 or 18, but if I didn't know better I'd think you guys were all 12."

Pouncival laughed. "I don't know how old I am. Right now I could be anywhere between 12 and 21, I legit have no idea."

Jemima batted him on the shoulder. "Pounce, 21?!" She exclaimed with a laugh. "You're like, 15. If anyone here could pass off being 21, that's me-"

"HAH!" Victoria let out the biggest fake laugh she could muster. "Please. I could totally be 21. I bet I could convince anyone I'm 21. Have you guys even seen me dance? I'm pretty damn hot-"

"I bet you could." Etcetera joined in with a smile. "You're crazy good at dancing. I wish I could be half as good as you, you're better than anyone."

Victoria folded her arms. "Oh really?" She said with a wry grin. "You really shouldn't be flirting with me considering you have a _girlfriend_-"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Etcetera said quickly, shaking her head. "Please don't tell people that. We just kissed a little. I don't want to scare her off because I told you guys already I'm sorry I really shouldn't have-"

"Etcetera, relax." Pouncival said with a soft laugh. "We won't tell anyone."

Etcetera felt a sigh of relief wash over her. "Really?"

"Yeah." He said, as Victoria and Jemima nodded. "Scout's honour, or whatever."

Victoria picked up her needles again, which seemed to act as the cue for everyone to restart their knitting. Jemima and Pouncival quickly followed suit, though Etcetera (who was frankly very much enjoying the fact that everyone was talking to her) decided she was not done with this conversation. Leaving her needles quite decidedly on the floor, she looked between them. "So... are any of you guys into anyone right now, or..?" It was an open question.

Jemima shrugged. "Tugger. Obviously."

Victoria glanced up at her. "Oh my gosh Jem, I know, right? I love his new thing... what is it, how do you call it? Rap...rapping? Is that right?" She looked at Etcetera expectantly.

Etcetera nodded. "Rapping. He told me all about it this one time. He said, and I'm pretty sure this is a direct quote, 'If you offer me grouse I'll only want pheasant, I won't eat grouse because I'm not a peasant'. I dunno what a peasant is, but grouse and pheasant both sound delicious."

Pouncival nodded his head. "YES." He said excitedly, which made the three queens laugh. Pouncival almost immediately covered his face with his paws. "I mean, those things sound nice to eat. I'm sorry, honestly I don't know why I'm even here knitting right now, it was just Tumble is off doing something else so I had nothing to do and mum suggested I do this because of eschewing gender roles or something."

Victoria looked at Pouncival like he was crazy and laughed. "Okay, Pounce. That's enough from you today."

Pouncival laughed. "Y'know, it's funny how often people say that... uhm... but while we're all talking about cats we like or whatever, I was wondering if any of you all knew anyone I'd get on well with..." He trailed off.

Jemima immediately jumped on his request. "Ooooh! Pounce wants us to play match-maker! Oh my god this is literally what I was born to do!" She grinned and started thinking of options. "Oh! Okay, straight away, this is a little different, but what about Plato?"

Etcetera burst out with a loud laugh, which she had to stifle immediately. "I think Plato loves Tugger more than I do." She said with a smirk, which set the two queens off laughing.

"How about Alonzo?" Victoria asked, which drew a raised eyebrow from Pouncival. "No offense or anything, but why do you all think I'm gay? I'm really not all that into toms. If I was into toms, I would have married Tumbly when we were kittens and by now we would have adopted a billion kittens. I would have named them all after everyone I like, so lots of them would be called 'Tumbly'."

Etcetera laughed at his childishness and offered her own suggestion. "Okay, so how about Cassandra? She's pretty and stuff, she's got really short fur too so you wouldn't get fur in your mouth when you kiss-" She stopped herself from talking, having realised what she said. With Jemima and Victoria all set to start giggling again, Etcetera added: "It's a bigger problem than you think."

With two of the three queens left giggling to themselves, Pouncival shrugged. "She's definitely really pretty but would she even be into me? If you think so then definitely set us up, but I always figured she was with Alonzo."

Victoria calmed herself down. "I thought that too!" She added, before Jemima interjected. "No, Vicki, I thought she was with Mungojerrie, right?"

Etcetera shrugged. "Honestly, I always thought she was shacking up with Mistoffelees, and that's why he picked her instead of me for that magic trick at the Jellicle Ball. Not that I'm bitter about that or anything. It was a stupid magic trick anyways."

Victoria gasped and grinned widely. "Oh my gosh." She said, half-stunned, half-excited. "I double-triple-quadruple dare you to say that to my brother's face!"

It took Etcetera a moment to realise the ramifications of that statement. "Oh... uhm, don't take _this _the wrong way, but seriously I never even realised you guys were brother and sister..."

All four cats started laughing as Victoria batted Etcetera on the arm. "You what?!" She giggled, though it only took a few moments for all of their laughter to stop.

"Victoria... how old are you?" It was Munkustrap. He had not meant to sneak up on them, he had only come over to inspect the loud noise that accompanied a group of happy kittens. But being Munkustrap, he felt obliged to make sure he knew exactly what they were up to.

"16!" Victoria and Jemima said in unison, with the latter anticipating his next question. As Munkustrap turned to Pouncival, the only tom-kitten in the group was quick to respond. "13!"

Everyone started giggling, barring Munkustrap of course. He rolled his eyes and let out a tortured sigh. "You are not 13, Pouncival. At least... I'm reasonably confident you are not 13. Don't make me ask your mother."

Pouncival could not stop giggling as he shook his head. "I dunno!" He exclaimed with a laugh. "Honestly, you should ask Tumble. He's much better with this kinda thing than I am."

Munkustrap cocked his head at Pouncival, but the (young?) tom was spared a lecture by Etcetera's interruption. "Hey, uhm, Munkustrap? I was actually kinda hoping to talk to you anyway..."

"Is it about the list I gave you?" Munkustrap asked with a wide smile, turning to face Etcetera.

"Uh... yeah. It's about the list-" Etcetera started, though she paused briefly when Munkustrap clapped his paws together with happiness. By all accounts, it was becoming clear that Munkustrap _liked _lists. But there was no doubt that he would dislike Etcetera's next few words...

"Your list sucks."

Munkustrap was speechless. Jemima, Victoria and Pouncival all had mouths agape at Etcetera's words, and they quickly turned to Munkustrap to see how he would possibly respond to them. For those who need a reminder, the 'list' in question was the list of jobs for the tribe that Munkustrap had given Etcetera only a few nights before, on her 16th-18th birthday. It was essentially a selection of possible careers, and it appeared that Etcetera had finally taken the time to look at them.

She stood up. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude... it's just that all the jobs are... I mean, there are jobs missing! Like, you didn't put 'protector' on there, and surely someone needs to do that when you or Alonzo don't want to? Or like just a guardian or something?" Etcetera was clearly annoyed by those omissions, and it was clear in her tone, but she was trying her hardest to be respectful.

Munkustrap shook his head. "A queen cannot be a protector," he said, sternly. The other kittens were now looking at Etcetera with a kind of wonderment, clearly impressed that she was speaking out against an adult.

"Why not?" Etcetera quickly retorted, folding her arms.

"Well, to put it simply, queens are better suited to raising children than fighting." Munkustrap shook his head. "What if you found out you were pregnant? Would you risk the life growing inside you? I mean, do you really want to fight? To be hurt by beasts like Macavity?"

Etcetera shrugged. "He doesn't seem so bad. I bet if I got really strong I could fight him like you did that one time! And I bet-"

Munkustrap cut her off. "I'm sorry Etcetera, but a pregnant queen really would not be much help in a fight. You would basically be telling me that you do not ever intend on having kittens – could you really do that? And besides... would you really be happy being as muscular as me?"

Much to everyone's surprise, it turned out that she would. Etcetera did a little hop on the spot and clapped her paws together excitedly, her face lighting up as she clarified that she thought "that would be amazing!"

Munkustrap raised an eyebrow before shaking his head, with half a smile on his lips. "Well... then I will not rule it out."

Etcetera clapped her paws together again, before trying to calm herself down. "Okay, but seriously, I don't really know why we're still talking about this, because I might not even be 18. Like, I might be 16. Nobody knows my actual age and I'd really appreciate it if you'd think about that for me."

Munkustrap rolled his eyes. "Honestly, Etcetera... I am literally... getting fed up of hearing you say that."

And with that, he turned and left.

Munkustrap had only been gone a few moments before Victoria tackle-hugged Etcetera to the ground. "OH MY GOD!" She exclaimed, before swiftly backing up and brushing off her fur. "Ahem. I mean, oh my goodness."

Jemima and Pouncival were quickly both by Etcetera's side as well, as neither of them could quite believe their eyes. "You just stood up to Munkustrap!" Jemima exclaimed, giving a little clap just like Etcetera had before.

"It was nothing-" Etcetera tried to say, but she was quickly cut off.

"Nothing? Oh man, it was the craziest thing I've ever seen!" Pouncival exclaimed as he hugged her. "That was sick! That was immense! That was like something I have never seen anyone ever do except for Tugger all the time but he's different, hey maybe you're being all like him now? That would be amazing! You could be the new him! You'd look hilarious in a backwards cap!"

And so it continued.

A few hours later, after Jennyanydots had returned and the quartet had finished knitting their respective blankets, Etcetera found herself sat between Jemima and Victoria, who had by now embellished her conversation with Munkustrap so much that she seemed like a martyr for women's rights. They were _still_ talking about it, which made Etcetera feel kind of awesome.

And it was that feeling of awesome that quickly turned into butterflies when Victoria happened to point out Rumpleteazer across the Junkyard. "Isn't that your girlfriend over there?" she asked with a playful shove.

Etcetera blushed furiously and shook her head. "It's not like that I told you, we just kissed a little. She says she likes me but she probably is going to stop liking me pretty soon, so-"

"HEY RUMPLETEAZER!" Jemima shouted as she stood up, which immediately caught the attention of the cat in question. "Come over here!" She yelled, and Rumpleteazer obliged.

Etcetera's butterflies turned into a sinking feeling as she watched Rumpleteazer approach. Was she even meant to tell people about the kisses? Or was that a secret? Had she just broken a secret and now there was no trust and now their relationship was going to be over because of a stupid thing like that? Her heart began pounding just as it did the day before, she could feel her face flush with embarrassment, and above all else she felt incredibly guilty. But no, they promised not to tell anyone! They wouldn't break that promise... right?

Rumpleteazer could see that Etcetera was uncomfortable. She was not sure why (though she could give it a good guess) and so decided the smartest thing to do would be to act natural. After all, what if Etcetera didn't want to tell people yet? Did they even have something to tell people about? Rumpleteazer wasn't sure. "Waddaya need me for?" She asked, half-certain of the answer.

"We were just wondering..." Victoria and Jemima almost said in unison, giving each other a look and holding back tiny giggles. "If you and Etcetera were all mushy like she said..?"

Rumpleteazer raised her eyebrows at Etcetera, who was now staring directly at the floor and hoping that a black hole would open beneath her feet to swallow her up whole. Luckily for her, though she did not know it yet, Rumpleteazer really did not care if anyone else knew. In fact, it charmed her that Etcetera would be so excited about their kissing that she could not keep it a secret.

"Scoot up." Rumpleteazer said as she motioned for Jemima to move along to let her sit with them. When she obliged, Rumpleteazer was able to sit herself down beside Etcetera, and wrap a cosy arm around her too.

"We were so mushy it was crazy." Rumpleteazer said with a laugh, feeling a grin form across her lips as she looked between Jemima and Victoria. "Like, the mushiest you can even think of. I kept thinking like, she's gotta stop kissing me sometime, but she didn't. Did we like, fall asleep together, or something? I can't remember..."

"Okay okay okay yes fine I'm sorry I told them but I couldn't keep it a secret okay?" Etcetera strung her words together quickly as she looked up, her blushing now so profuse that the cream fur on her face was showing as a kind of pink. "Also, you fell asleep, not me. I just watched you for a bit but then you started snoring so I woke you up."

Victoria and Jemima both started laughing, which made Rumpleteazer blush too. "Oh, is it? You'll have to get used to that, cause I snore big-time. Mungo's always saying that, though he snores more than anyone ever." Rumpleteazer's arm slid down Etcetera's back, with her paw stopping to rest on her hip. "Anyways, actually, I was kind of wanting to talk to you anyway."

Etcetera glanced at the paw on her hip and bit her lip, feeling more awkward than she thought possible. "You wanted to talk to me?" She sounded almost confused, as if the though that someone would want to speak to her was so shocking. Her voice was a lot more innocent than before, and at the very least it had lost some of the confidence it carried when she was talking to Victoria and Jemima earlier. She closed her eyes, hoping that if she stopped looking this might be a little easier to manage.

"Very yes." Rumpleteazer grinned as her other paw reached across to rest on Etcetera's arm. Rumpleteazer was leaning towards the other queen now and very lightly rested her head against Etcetera's shoulder, shutting her eyes briefly. "I was wondering... I mean, next week, I'm gonna go... be a notorious cat. And I was wondering if you wanted to come with me?"

Etcetera wanted with all of her heart to wrap her arms around Rumpleteazer, but she felt too nervous to manage it. "Me? You want me to come with you to be... notorious? Is that, like, stealing? Not that you steal things! You just sing about it, right? I mean, uhm, what about Mungojerrie?" Her arms refused to work, though the frustratingly-loud pounding of her heart was doing enough to let Rumpleteazer know that she liked being hugged like this – or at the very least, that she felt emotionally invested in it.

Rumpleteazer kissed her teeth. "I ain't a thief. I just borrow things sometimes on a permanent basis, and I was thinking you might wanna do it with me or whatever. Anyway, Mungo's off with Cassandra. They're together now, or something. She's a heart-breaker, I keep telling him, but he won't listen."

Etcetera opened her eyes at those words, smirking and glancing to her side to tell Jemima that she was right before... but Jemima was not there. Looking to her other side, Etcetera realised that Victoria was not there either – apparently the two kittens had decided to leave them to it. Etcetera felt a strange feeling wash over her, this sense of confusion at another cat doing something nice for her. Everything was changing, she was being noticed, the kittens were being nice to her and doing nice things for her, but why? Etcetera could not help but wonder what was behind this all, if there was-

"Hey, are you even listening?" Rumpleteazer interrupted Etcetera's train of thought. She lifted her head to catch her gaze and both queens looked at one another. Rumpleteazer smirked and shook her head. "You're really weird, y'know that? I kinda like it."

"Kinda like it?" Etcetera retorted, catching the playful tone in Rumpleteazer's voice and reciprocating in kind. "Well I _kinda_ like you. And by 'kinda' I mean 'a hundred'. I like you a hundred."

Rumpleteazer just laughed and lifted her arms, wrapping them around Etcetera's shoulders. "I can't believe you told them already." She said with a smile, showing the other queen that this was happy news to her.

Etcetera gave her a sheepish smile back. "I just... I just couldn't keep it in. Pounce saw me going into your den anyhow, then he saw me leaving it the next day. Like... it was a coincidence, but I was really, really happy to tell them. I feel like I want to tell everyone. But! But I didn't tell them you were my girlfriend or anything, like I didn't want to put that label on it or anything because I don't know if that's something you even want yet or whatever-"

Rumpleteazer interrupted Etcetera by giggling – she found it adorable when the other queen spoke too much. "I dunno." Rumpleteazer lowered her head slightly, moving just a little to look directly into Etcetera's eyes. "Is that something you'd like?"

Etcetera could have sworn that her heart literally skipped a beat, which was unusual considering how defiantly loudly it was pounding in her chest. "Are you even joking right now?" She asked, feeling half a stutter in her words. Her lip was almost quivering, suddenly she felt a kind of immense pressure as if she were the opening act at the Jellicle Ball. "I'd... I mean I'd... are you asking me to be your girlfriend right now?"

Rumpleteazer was trying exceptionally hard to keep herself together, and to her credit she was being very successful. She too could feel the butterflies in the pit of her stomach, the choke in her throat and the slightly increased breathing that this conversation brought. There was an intensity that came with looking into Etcetera's eyes, her wonderful mahogany eyes, and right now she really only had one word to say:

"Yes."

Etcetera leapt forwards and wrapped her arms around Rumpleteazer's back, hugging her tighter than she had ever hugged anything before. "Oh my God yes oh yes oh yes oh yes oh yes!" The words flew from her mouth faster than she could stop them, her body literally bouncing as they hugged. Within a second she had drawn her head back to look into Rumpleteazer's eyes again, and moments later she was pressing a kiss on the other queen's lips.

The excitement was contagious. Seeing Etcetera's unbelievably happy reaction filled Rumpleteazer with joy, though she could have done without the tiny 'squee' noises that kept erupting from Etcetera's mouth. They were definitely drawing some attention from the cats in the Junkyard, though nobody was bothering them. Rumpleteazer stifled a laugh as she returned the kiss, breaking it quickly enough just to get a few words in. "I'm guessing you're happy, then."

Etcetera giggled and hugged Rumpleteazer tightly again. "Oh my god I can't believe you're my girlfriend! I can't believe I actually have a girlfriend this is the best day of my whole entire life!" She managed to squeak between the hugs, kisses and 'squee' noises. She placed another big kiss on Rumpleteazer's lips as a soft purr rolled from her throat, coupled with the words: "You just made me happier than anything ever!"

Rumpleteazer drew back slightly after the kiss, feeling it like electricity down her spine. The purring... this felt crazy. She had never experienced anything like this, being even slightly intimate with someone so... happy. It was mesmerising. "Y'know what?" She asked, getting to her feet. "C'mon. Let's go back to mine and we can hang out there for a little while..."

Etcetera swiftly jumped to her feet and grabbed Rumpleteazer's paw, holding it tightly.

She was so happy.


	5. The Heist

Rumpleteazer was waiting.

She was sat upon a balcony, half-obscured by shadow, and looking out onto the great road before her. Perched high above the street below, she could observe all of the traffic as it whizzed by as well as the hordes of Londoners. The humans, the cats, the dogs. In some cases, the horses, but Rumpleteazer had never gotten on well with horses. She tended to avoid them altogether.

"I'm starting to figure her 'thing' is she's always late..." Rumpleteazer muttered as she stifled a yawn. The sun was setting and this part of London was beginning to darken further. The queen could just about see into Kensington Gardens from her spot on the balcony – squinting, she could still make out the statue of the boy with the fairies. The humans were obsessed with such odd stories.

Rumpleteazer turned to glance at the wide glass-panelled doors that led from the balcony into the house. Opening them would not be an issue for her, so gaining access would be easy. Though the lights were off inside the large house, Rumpleteazer assumed she was looking at a bedroom. Bedrooms contained jewellery boxes, which in turn contained jewellery. And how Rumpleteazer simply adored jewellery.

She placed her paw against the glass panel, and closed her eyes. She was used to doors with handles, but she assumed this would work in the same way. A few moments passed without movement, before a 'click' came from the doors. The glass-panelled door slid across of its own accord and settled comfortably against the other. With that simple action, the doors were open. Rumpleteazer was in.

There was a sound.

Rumpleteazer darted back onto the balcony, glancing across the street with immediacy. The sound had been a mixture of a crash and a squeal, which she recognised almost instantly. "Hey!" She said in a hushed voice. "Are you actually coming or what?"

Etcetera emerged underneath the balcony, looking up at Rumpleteazer. "I fell." She said simply, before looking over at the wall again. "How did you get up there, anyway?"

"I climbed." Rumpleteazer replied with an incredulous smirk. "But like, I climbed way, way earlier and jumped on the rooftops for a bit – y'know what? You could probably just jump up on that fence over there and come over here."

"Fine." Etcetera followed the instructions given to her. She knew that she was late, but wondered how Rumpleteazer could blame her. She hardly travelled outside the Junkyard at the best of times. Using her natural agility (Etcetera was nimble, if nothing else – see her trapeze artistry for further details) the queen hopped upon the nearby fence and followed it to the neighbouring house. After a few hops, she managed to make it across to the balcony.

Rumpleteazer stepped forward to help her stand, but stopped short as she saw Etcetera up-close. "Oh my god what is on your face."

"War paint!" Etcetera smiled broadly. "I just knew you'd notice! I did like, these lines on my face so nobody would recognise me when we steal stuff! Clever, right?" It was the truth. Before leaving her den, Etcetera had liberally applied face-paint in a few lines across her cheeks. It did make quite a difference to her appearance up-close, but nobody would be in danger of not recognising her any time soon.

"Okay, two things." Rumpleteazer placed a paw to her mouth to stop herself from laughing. "One, I ain't a thief. We've been through this, I just borrow things occasionally on a permanent basis. And two... you look so ridiculous oh my actual god!" It was too difficult. Rumpleteazer darted inside the house and started laughing, still trying her best to be quiet but failing miserably as the giggles escaped from her mouth.

Etcetera watched her partner stumble into the building and rolled her eyes. She stepped inside as well, glancing at Rumpleteazer and folding her arms. "Okay, you can laugh all you like, but nobody would know who I was if they saw me so who's the stupid one now?"

"Still you!" Rumpleteazer replied through more giggles. She was now half-collapsed against the bed – it was the bedroom, after all – both paws over her mouth in what was becoming a desperate attempt to halt the laughter. Good thieves very rarely spent half of their heist giggling, after all.

Etcetera stood staring at Rumpleteazer for a few moments, before folding her arms and pouting. The pout quickly fell into a more real expression, her face falling from a fake anger to a real upset at being the source of this laughter. "I'm going home." She said firmly, turning around to leave.

Few things could have had such a sobering effect on Rumpleteazer. Those words (and the tone in which they were said) made her laughter fall completely silent. The queen scrambled to her feet, leaping across the room before grabbing Etcetera's arm. "Hey, I'm sorry." She said quickly, shaking her head. "That was mean. I just didn't expect it, is all."

"Yeah, well, you hurt my feelings so there." Etcetera kept her arms folded as she turned to look at Rumpleteazer. "You're meant to be nice to me."

"I said I'm sorry." Rumpleteazer repeated as she let go of Etcetera's arm. She stared at the 'war paint' and shook her head, giving a small shrug. "I don't like the paint on your face anyhow, it covers up your freckles and they're your best bit."

Etcetera gave a small sigh and allowed herself to smile. She had long since learned that it was a waste of time getting upset over spilled milk, especially when she seemed to spill so much of it. She had also learned that compliments only came her way once every few years, and it was rather important to take advantage of them whenever she could. "So you like my freckles, huh?" She said with a resigned sigh.

"Oh, like, you have no idea." Rumpleteazer smirked as she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. "Are we friends again? I don't like it when you look all sad. I mean, you do the best pout-face I've ever seen but your giggling-face is way better. That's my favourite." She kissed Etcetera on the cheek and glanced down, smiling inwardly at the sight of the dragon-shaped pendant that dangled from Etcetera's neck. Apparently, she was still enamoured by that gift.

Etcetera could not help but make a small giggle at those words, which drew another smile from Rumpleteazer. "I like your face too." Etcetera replied, glancing to the side awkwardly. "I mean, you have a nice face. What am I even saying? You're pretty. We're friends forever, also please kiss me now."

Rumpleteazer obliged. She first nuzzled Etcetera before placing a soft kiss against her partner's lips, her eyes gently shutting for a moment as they embraced. "But seriously though, the freckles are really good. Don't vex me by putting any more paint on them."

Etcetera could not help but laugh as she lightly batted Rumpleteazer's shoulder. "You say the weirdest things sometimes, you know that?"

"Just because I don't speak good like you don't make me any less awesome." Rumpleteazer stuck out her tongue at Etcetera as she released the other queen from her embrace. "Also, while we're talking about people saying stupid things... all I'm hearing around the Junkyard is people talking about you yelling at Munkustrap? That's pretty suicidal."

"Oh please." Etcetera shook her head and glanced around the room. It was large, with many dressers, cupboards and other furnishings. Without question, the humans who lived here were rather wealthy. "He wants me to choose this life off of a list he made, but his list is things that sound really boring. I was all like, why can't I be like him or Alonzo and kick bad guys in the face?"

Rumpleteazer, noticing that Etcetera had begun taking stock of her surroundings, stepped forward and hopped up onto the bed. "He's a tom. Toms are stupid." Surveying the room from her vantage point, Rumpleteazer stopped when she saw her target: the dresser. "They have this whole thing about queens only being good for having kids. Personal like, I can't imagine anything worse than a bunch of screamy, scrawny, smelly kittens, but whatever."

"I know, right?" Etcetera exclaimed as she clapped her paws together excitedly. "I don't want kittens inside me! I mean, I just don't. That sounds really, really, really... icky. And wrong, just plain wrong. Urgh." She gave a fake shudder for Rumpleteazer's amusement, but her partner seemed preoccupied and missed it.

"Fun that we're on the same page about that." Rumpleteazer said with a smirk as she hopped off the bed and stepped towards the dresser across the room. "Not that it makes too much of a difference anyhow, because I seem to remember Jenny being pretty clear that if you want kits, you'll need someone with a dick. I mean, sure, I think like she said it in different words, but that was the gist."

Etcetera laughed as she approached Rumpleteazer and stood beside her. "Wait a minute, you're telling me that two queens can't have kittens when they make love? Then why aren't we currently going at it like pollicles?" She teased her girlfriend, giving her a light shove.

Rumpleteazer gave Etcetera a look of bewildered surprise, shaking her head slightly. "The things you say sometimes are weird as all hell, you know that?" She laughed, repeating what Etcetera had said earlier. "Besides, I woulda thought you remember the reason we ain't done it yet is because you got all scared and flustered like. I've been wanting to do things to you ever since we starting making out-"

"Okay okay oh my god fine yes I'm sorry it was just a joke." Etcetera blushed as she looked away, focussing her attention on the dresser in front of her. "I told you I haven't ever... I mean, you were my first real kiss, like kissing that even meant anything. I get freaked out sometimes and I don't know when I'm gonna feel comfortable enough to-"

"Breathe, Etty." Rumpleteazer concealed a laugh as she began rifling through the first drawer on the dresser. "Calm yourself down like, and help me look for something. It's gonna be a box maybe, usually is anyhow. I want jewels and necklaces, basically anything shiny, like find something cool and I'll tell you if I want it. I'm looking for this really cool bracelet thing, so just tell me whatever you find."

Etcetera followed the instructions, pulling open a different drawer. "Yeah, sorry, I kinda forgot that we were being all... notorious. Maybe I could be a notorious cat from now on. No, wait, that would be impossible because nobody can recognise me right now on account of my INCREDIBLE WAR PAINT." She grinned at Rumpleteazer, before lifting two shiny purple gems from the drawer. "Here, look at this... these are traps!" Etcetera said with half a gasp, showing Rumpleteazer the pointed metal attached the the gems. "These look really, really sharp! Why would humans do this? Are they literally leaving them around to catch us going through their things? This is really scary, I can't believe you didn't tell me there were-"

"ETTY." Rumpleteazer said firmly, forcing Etcetera to stop talking. The queen shook her head in disbelief as she took the gems from Etcetera. "No, they're not traps... these are ear-rings. Humans wear them all the time. Seriously, how do you not know this? Have you ever even like seen a human before?"

Etcetera felt as though she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her whole. "Whelp, I'm an idiot, apparently." She looked to the side, embarrassed. "I bet you wish you didn't even take me along, all I can do is get things wrong... and no, I hardly see any humans because I spend most of my life sat in a room wondering why anyone even likes me."

Rumpleteazer froze. "You...what?" She said in a hushed voice, before patting Etcetera on the arm. "Why do you say things like that?" She asked quietly, moving to hold Etcetera's paw. "Like, you don't actually feel like that, right?"

Etcetera sighed and turned her body to face Rumpleteazer. "Yeah, sometimes." She shook her head. "Coming out here today was a big deal for me. Maybe it doesn't feel like it to you because you do it all the time, but I hardly ever leave the Junkyard. Humans freak me out and I get scared. Plus... I'm just some cat. Some random, background cat that nobody really cares about. I could get lost or go missing and nobody would even notice."

First, Rumpleteazer squeezed Etcetera's paw. Second, she enveloped her arms around Etcetera in a warm, tight hug. Third, she nuzzled Etcetera's cheek and fourth, she whispered to her. "If you actually feel like that... maybe you should talk to Jenny or someone a bit smarter than me. I know it probably ain't what you want to hear, but those thoughts are really awful and you shouldn't be having them. We all love you, Etty. The whole tribe loves you loads."

"...do _you_ love me?"

"...that's... I mean, I..."

"It's too soon. I know, I'm sorry, that was a stupid thing to-"

"No, Etty... actually, I was kinda wanting to talk to you about that-"

SLAM.

The front door downstairs was slammed shut. Rumpleteazer hadn't heard the sound of it opening, but she sure as sin heard the sound of it shutting. Now was not the time for hugging and consoling – it was very much the time for grabbing and running – and the sound of that door slamming was enough to make both cats mindful of their current situation.

"Okay, let's talk about this later." Etcetera said as she broke the hug, nodding her head gently. She felt vulnerable, but could not allow her heightened emotions to get in the way any longer. If that was the sound of humans returning, they probably only had a minute at most to get out of there.

Rumpleteazer flashed a look of concern as she started pushing things off of the dresser. She dug through everything in clear sight, making an obvious mess as she tried to find that one thing her heart was set on. She was about to give up on it altogether, until she made a cursory glance at the floor and saw it. Or she saw them, to be more precise, and bent down to pick them up.

Etcetera stared at Rumpleteazer in disbelief, shaking her head. "They're too big." She said simply, leaning down to help. They were certainly too big for the cats to manage. For a human, they would almost certainly dangle rather nicely from the wrist, but for these felines they would never fit.

"Like, just don't touch me or these things for a second, okay?" Rumpleteazer shut her eyes as she held a section of the hoops in each paw. She muttered a few words under her breath, which had a sudden and remarkable effect – the hoops began to shrink.

Etcetera looked on in stunned silence as the once-large items became smaller still, until they finally rested at a size not much larger than her own wrist. "Oh my days." She said quietly, shocked into confusion. "You're a magic cat."

"Okay, yes, but don't go telling people aight?" Rumpleteazer lifted the bracelets and stood up, smirking at Etcetera. "I can magic doors to be unlocked too, that's how I got in here. Also... now you know why I'm so much better at being notorious than Mungo. I'm pretty sure that because you're my girlfriend you're sworn to secrecy, but take this anyway." She lifted Etcetera's paw and slid the bracelet onto it, before sliding one onto herself. "See, now we match!"

Etcetera was still absolutely stunned. "Magic." She reiterated, before letting out a shriek as the door swung open, and a human stepped into the room.

Rumpleteazer and Etcetera ran faster than either had run in their entire lives.

Urged on by the screaming and bellowing of the human (who apparently did not like cats all too much), the pair darted out of the room and ran along the fence onto a nearby rooftop. They had run across what felt like half of the rooftops in London before either cat realised that they were far, far away from the frightening human, and in truth they only stopped because Etcetera fell to her paws and knees to catch her breath.

"Oh... my... days..." Etcetera panted as she fell to her side, breathing heavily in a fit of absolute exhaustion. She took several short, sharp breaths, essentially hyperventilating as she tried to recover from that terror. "Humans... magic... I hate... humans.. why are you... magic..?"

Rumpleteazer laughed as she bent over, her paws on her knees as she similarly sought to catch her breath. "We... made it... though!" She grinned, showing Etcetera the bracelet around her paw once again. "Isn't it... sexy though? We both... got one!"

Etcetera lifted her own paw in the air as she laid on her back on the cold, hard rooftop. Staring at her wrist, she observed the pattern. It was a black band, fairly plain, but made simply fantastic by the silver dragon that wrapped around it. The dragon was similar in style to the one that featured on her pendant, a realisation that made her smile. "You did this... for me."

"Yup!" Rumpleteazer replied with a grin, offering her paw to help Etcetera up to her feet. "C'mon. The Junkyard's only a few minutes from here and- ooff!" Much to her surprise, Etcetera had taken Rumpleteazer's paw and pulled her to the ground, forcing the queen to fall on top of her.

Lying in this position, Etcetera beamed widely and wrapped both of her arms around Rumpleteazer's back. Her leg lifted to wrap lazily around the other queen's waist, a flash of excitement and playfulness across Etcetera's face. "Or, I could be spontaneous." She said with that same grin, before pressing her lips against her partner's in a sudden kiss.

Rumpleteazer hardly resisted. Her paws fell either side of Etcetera's cheeks to offer some support on this random rooftop in central London, which was hardly comfortable. The kiss was the antithesis of that, a kind of excited embrace that made her feel flustered. She reciprocated the affection, her lips parting as their tongues lightly lashed together, her heart thundering in her chest as she lifted her paw from the cold, hard floor. Her fingers brushed gently across Etcetera's cheek, stroking her softly in the dim moonlight.

Their kiss was short but sweet, it left a longing in Etcetera's heart and a taste for more. Everything had happened so quickly, but moreover she was still stunned by that revelation. "You're magic." She said quietly, shaking her head at Rumpleteazer. "I can't believe you didn't tell me you could do magic."

Rumpleteazer gave another gentle laugh and nuzzled Etcetera. "Nobody knows." She said simply, before allowing her paw to run across to Etcetera's ear. Her fingers lightly brushed against the back of her ear, making a very soft motion to stroke her gingerly. "Not even Mungo. You're legit the first cat I've ever told."

Etcetera felt her back arch instinctively as she cuddled her cheek against Rumpleteazer's paw, purring at the tender touch behind her ear. She was not used to this kind of pleasure, it was different and it was fantastic – because it was not simply physical. That admission from Rumpleteazer showed a kind of trust that had never been given to Etcetera before, nobody had ever entrusted her with such a secret. It was pleasure on an emotional level, and it made her heart flutter. "You're so pretty..."

"You're way, way prettier." Rumpleteazer giggled at the way Etcetera was reacting to being touched. This was new to her as well as she had very limited experience with queens, but she considered that if Etcetera reacted this well to having her ear stroked, she would surely lose her mind if things became a little more intimate. In part simply wondering what the other queen would do, Rumpleteazer allowed her paw to leave her partner's ear.

Rumpleteazer's paw stroked tenderly through the fur on Etcetera's cheek, fingertips teasingly brushing against skin as they caressed the side of her neck, finally reaching her shoulder. "You're crazy pretty, actually." Rumpleteazer whispered as their words seemed to melt away, leaving only the sound of their hearts beating on this Summer's night. Her paw slowly worked its way along Etcetera's arm, moving inwards and brushing against her side before ever-so-teasingly-slowly moving to caress her chest.

"Okay okay stop stop stop..." The words spilled from Etcetera's lips as she pushed Rumpleteazer away, her chest heaving with each deep breath as she sat bolt upright, stopping the other queen from continuing. Her eyes were almost glazed over in a very obvious lust, breathlessness littering her voice as she spoke. "Let's... Junkyard." Etcetera reached out to grasp Rumpleteazer's paw, squeezing it very tightly. "Junkyard and then your den and then... then... maybe more."

And so they ran. Not at first, of course. At first they walked, but as they held paws and swished tails, their pace quickened. The excitement of getting back to Rumpleteazer's den, to embrace and 'maybe more', turned their bubbling lust into a heightened passion. Soon they were darting across the rooftops of London with surges of adrenalin, finding themselves at the Junkyard in record time.

They practically danced towards Rumpleteazer's den, their bodies twisting and turning under the watchful eye of the night sky. Soon they were there, Rumpleteazer opened the door and... shut it, almost immediately. She turned to face Etcetera, an aggrieved look on her face. "Mungo's inside." Rumpleteazer said simply.

"...then my den." Etcetera replied as she grabbed Rumpleteazer's paws, attempting to drag her away, but the other cat was unmoving.

"No, he's..." Rumpleteazer briefly glanced over her shoulder, as if she could see him through the door. "I can sense it, it's all up in my... everything. I know he's in there, I can just feel it. It's like, a twin thing, or whatever."

Etcetera bit her lip – this was one of the worst anti-climaxes of her life. The excitement that had built within her refused to abate, and as the two queens stood there it was becoming increasingly clear that Etcetera was not ready to let this night end so prematurely. She stepped forwards, pressing her body against Rumpleteazer's and wrapping her arms around her waist. "What if I told you..." She whispered, moving her lips close to the other queen's ear, "...that I wanted you to keep touching me like you were before..?"

For a brief moment, Rumpleteazer wondered if running away from danger was a turn-on for Etcetera, and made a mental note to find out later. For now, this just was not going to work. "Oh, Etty..." She briefly considered it, but could not get over the feeling that her brother needed her. "I'd tell you as much as I'd like that, I really can't." She placed her paws on Etcetera's shoulders, forcing the queen away slightly. "Mungo's sad. I can feel it. That she-wolf probably dumped him."

By 'she-wolf', Rumpleteazer was referring to Cassandra. Etcetera folded her arms at being physically pushed back, frustrated at being rejected. "It's okay, I get it." She said with a resigned shrug. "It's fine. Your brother's way more important than me. Whatever. I'll just go back to my tiny little den and pretend like you're there with me, even though you _ain't_."

Rumpleteazer shook her head at the sarcasm, flustered and frustrated that Etcetera would so deliberately mock the way she talked. "I didn't say that! I ain't making this up, y'know. I can feel Mungo's in there, all sad and stuff. When I opened that door it got all over me like spilled milk, I betcha he's in there and he's heartbroken-"

"Can't you see me standing in front of you, all sad and stuff?" Etcetera furrowed her brow at Rumpleteazer. "I thought you were gonna make me feel better, but honestly it feels like you don't actually like me."

Rumpleteazer's mouth fell open at those words as a look of anger flashed across her face. "How could you say something so stupid?" She retorted, which made Etcetera ball her paws into fists. "Obviously I like you! Didn't those kisses just then even mean anything?" Though both queens almost immediately regretted their words, it was too late to change them.

Etcetera's eyes were glistening as though tears were forming as she could not stop herself from saying something else she didn't mean. "Maybe I'll just go throw myself at Tugger, at least he doesn't call me stupid!" Her voice cracked and she span on her heel, walking directly away from the den and not turning back.

Both queens felt a similar hurt, annoyed at the other for saying something mean-spirited and too stubborn to apologise. Rumpleteazer audibly sighed as she watched Etcetera go, but she was hardly going to go after her. Turning and opening the door once more, a sad feeling spread over her. She darted through the hallway, fighting the building, depressing emotions as she made it into the main room – and there she found Mungojerrie, sat on the edge of her bed, sobbing into his paws.

"She left me, Teaze!" He barked suddenly, confirming her suspicions.

"That bitch." Rumpleteazer muttered as she approached and sat down beside him. She felt utterly terrible, in part because of her fight with Etcetera, in part because of this 'shared emotion' thing. She did not fully understand it, only that she seemed to be feeling the weight of Mungojerrie's emotions every time they overflowed like this. She placed a paw on his shoulder, resigning to later speak to one of the tribe's magical cats to see if they could explain this.

She had confined herself to an evening of trying to cheer up this sobbing tom, all the while considering that her actions may have cost her her own relationship as well. It would not take long for Rumpleteazer to decide that she would apologise to Etcetera, even if she did not feel as if she did anything wrong. She did not believe that Etcetera would actually go to see the Rum Tum Tugger, of course, as he would surely take advantage of her. There was no way Etcetera would be that stupid.

And yet, had she known what Etcetera was planning on doing, Rumpleteazer would have certainly prioritised her over Mungojerrie this evening.

For only a short distance away, still well within the confines of the Junkyard, Etcetera stood at someone else's door. She tapped a few times, looking at the floor, biting her lip and inwardly forcing herself to stand still. It was those words earlier that were rocketing through her mind, confusing her emotions and forcing her to stay angry. Angry at Rumpleteazer for what she saw as ruining their evening, angry at herself for yelling at her girlfriend, angry at the rest of the world for making her feel so awful. She was crying.

When the door opened, Etcetera did not even look up, as she recalled the words that Rumpleteazer said to her earlier. It was the truth that hurt the most, and the realisation that going back to her den would be the worst thing for her right now. It was all Etcetera could do to speak very quietly at the tom standing in front of her, as the realisation hit that she could not be alone tonight. "I know it's really late and you probably don't want me here, but I feel like nobody actually likes me, everything I do is wrong and you're the only cat who might actually care."

Munkustrap wrapped his arms around Etcetera in a soft hug. "It's never too late to ask for help." He said simply, allowing her to hug him back. "Let's get you inside, I'll make you a warm drink and you can tell me all about it."


	6. The First Step

Etcetera was sitting.

Trying her best to seem calm (though the two streaks of facepaint covering her cheeks now made her feel ridiculous), she sat beside a roaring fire with a mug of hot chocolate in her paws. She was being taken care of, which was an unusual feeling. She was not used to being the centre of anyone's attention, let alone a cat as important as Munkustrap. He was the tribe's leader, the tribe's protector... not an agony aunt. That fact alone made her feel even stupider, and she had already made a few efforts to leave. All had been rejected.

"From now on, everything is going to be okay." Munkustrap assured her. He sat beside her, maintaining a warm smile that belied his weary eyes. Clearly he had been asleep when she knocked, which would hardly be a surprise given the hour. It was past midnight, though despite this fact Munkustrap seemed to be perfectly sound-of-mind. "Whatever happened, everything is just going to be fine."

Etcetera sighed as she looked at the mug in her paws. "But I ruined everything. My stupid rubbish head makes me..." She trailed off, giving another deliberate sigh. Her body language told more of the story than her words, as she seemed to hunch herself together, trying to make herself appear small. "I... I keep disappointing everyone, like I haven't even picked a job from your stupid list!"

Munkustrap shook his head as a soft laugh left his lips. He reached out to pat Etcetera gently on the back. "My list... that list I gave you was just ideas. Anything to make you think and wonder about your future here – it was not intended to make you feel hurt. Is that what this is about? Some stupid list?" He echoed her term, calling it a 'stupid list', even though in truth he felt all lists were very important and should never be looked down upon. He was willing to allow his sense of duty to fall by the wayside in this instance. "Fuck the list."

Etcetera laughed. It was the first time she had shown any positive emotion since she turned up at his doorstep, and it felt good. "Okay, I didn't expect you to say that." She could not help but grin briefly, though it soon fell from her face as she shook her head. "Thanks, but... but that's not what this is about..." She trailed off, her expression completely falling as she looked at the floor.

Suddenly, Etcetera felt extremely angry.

Angry because she felt patronised, angry because she felt he did not know her well enough to give her advice. But most of all, angry because she had suddenly realised that the list was _exactly _what this was about. She felt as if nobody noticed her, which of course was not true, but more accurately that nobody noticed her _enough_. The tribe knew who she was, she had friends and so on, but that birthday was the tipping point. And, filled with this sense of anger, Etcetera was going to let him have it.

Etcetera calmly placed the mug on the floor before getting to her feet.

"Your fucking list!" She frowned, glaring at Munkustrap as she balled her paws into fists. "Your stupid fucking list! You think I care about that list? You think I actually give a flying fuck about that list? I don't care! I don't fucking care!"

"Come on, calm down." Munkustrap spoke as he got to his feet, reaching out to place his paws on her shoulders. "That's okay. It isn't important, Etcetera-"

She immediately batted his paws away, refusing the physical touches that had made her feel so safe only half an hour earlier on his doorstep. "You don't know me! I finally have a big important birthday and all you get me is some stupid piece of paper! No actual present, because you'd actually have to know something about me first! You don't know me. Nobody here knows me, the only cat who was starting to know me now hates me and I don't even know why!"

"Hey, it's okay." Munkustrap was using his calmest tone, clearly trying to get Etcetera to lower her voice. "You don't need to worry about these things yet, okay? We'll sit down and talk about things some more, you can tell me these things and we'll genuinely talk about them. These things don't need to worry you, whatever is wrong, you're only eighteen-"

Etcetera's eyes widened as the words came out of his mouth, causing a fury that burned deep in her gut. "You don't even know how fucking old I am!" She yelled at the top of her lungs and stomped her feet on the ground, deliberately kicking over the mug of hot chocolate. "I could be sixteen! Sixteen or eighteen! Nobody actually fucking knows how old I am and I have to go through life just guessing and you don't even know that one stupid fact about me! Nobody even took the time to check what day I got found crying in some fucking dumpster because that's all I am, some piece of fucking rubbish my mother threw away because she didn't want me like nobody wants me-"

Etcetera fell to the floor, her knees clenched tightly to her chest as she cried loud, pained sobs. She had yelled the first words that came to mind, speaking before her thoughts could catch up to her, but what was said could not be undone. Those were the words that she had screamed at Munkustrap, partly a teenage rebellion finally bubbling to the surface, partly the truth that underlined her disconnect. The words had proven too much for her to bear, and once she had spoken them all that was left to do was cry.

Munkustrap immediately fell to his knees and tightly wrapped his arms around Etcetera. "Okay." He said simply, allowing his muscular figure to provide something for her to rest against. "That's okay. I was lucky to have a father when I was a kitten, not all of us got that privilege."

This time, she did not try to fight his embrace. Etcetera's tears were falling faster than her head could catch up with them, as her emotions overwhelmed her. She found herself sobbing into his chest, overcome with a deep feeling of shame for yelling at him. It was not his fault that she was abandoned, but as much as she wanted to apologise, that same sense of shame made the apology too difficult to muster.

Munkustrap was grateful that the yelling had died down, though his ears perked as he heard movement upstairs. That was not important right now, he reasoned. Or at least, not the most important thing right now. "It's okay to be angry." He had remained perfectly calm while she shouted at him, being careful not to reflect any of the anger back at her. "I would be angry too. But you're wrong about something – no matter what happened when you were a kitten, everybody here loves you to bits."

Another small laugh managed to escape in amongst the sobs, as Etcetera shook her head. Everything about this seemed ridiculous to her, not least that Munkustrap would even care. But he did care, and that fact was starting to hit home. "No they don't." She replied firmly. "Nobody cares what happens to me. I could walk into the middle of the road and wait for a car to hit me and nobody would even notice I was gone-"

"If you really believe that, we should have a long talk."

Both cats looked over at the source of the voice, which caused remarkably different emotions. Munkustrap was disappointed that he had woken her up, though relieved that she had come to help. Etcetera did not immediately know who it was, as she remained bleary-eyed from the tears. Eventually her vision shifted, and as the other queen approached, she finally recognised her. It was Demeter.

"Did you have a rough day? Days can be pretty hard sometimes." Demeter spoke with a tenderness that soothed Etcetera's emotions in a way that Munkustrap simply could not. She reached out to Etcetera, giving a soft smile as she took the queen's paw in her own. "You don't need to cry, but if it makes you feel better, you can cry as much as you like."

And so, she did.

Neither Munkustrap nor Demeter tried to give any advice while Etcetera cried, instead offering the simplest calming words that they knew. Small utterances of "it's going to be alright" and "we're here for you" helped her get over the tears as they made the effort to change rooms. Etcetera was fine on her feet as they helped her up the stairs and into the spare bedroom, carefully helping her sit on the spare bed.

Demeter sat too, though when Munkustrap tried to join she motioned for him to go. They shared the briefest of conversations, and Etcetera did not protest when Demeter urged Munkustrap to give her some 'alone time' with the other queen. He obliged, kissing Demeter on the top of the head before leaving.

"He tries, bless him, but he isn't very good at this sort of thing." Demeter clarified, patting Etcetera on the arm. "I must admit that I didn't hear everything earlier, but having gotten rather upset myself a few times in the past, I want you to know that everything you feel right now is normal."

Etcetera shook her head. The tears were starting to abate now, and she was starting to feel better. There was still hurt, and she certainly did not feel 'good' by any means, but she no longer felt like sobbing. "How can you even pretend like I'm normal." She said quietly, this time slightly recoiling from Demeter's touch. "I get so, so sad sometimes."

"And that's okay. You need to know that that's okay. Everyone has one or two days that are a little dark-"

"You don't understand!" Etcetera snapped, folding her arms tightly as if hugging herself. "This isn't 'one or two days', this is my _life_. It feels like every week I lose a day, every month I lose a week... and every time I just stay in my den and nobody even notices I'm not outside."

Demeter sighed. Etcetera's problems were worse than she thought, and a few simple words were not going to fix them. This would take a while. "Can I ask you a few questions?" She asked, keeping that soft tone that she affected earlier. She was not deliberately acting maternal, though there were certainly motherly elements coming through the way she spoke. "For example, how do you feel when you think about the future?"

The direct nature of the question confused Etcetera, who struggled to see how thinking about the future could do anything to effect how she felt right now. After all, it was _right now_ that she was worried about. "I don't think about anything like that." She sounded defensive. "I haven't got a future."

Demeter did not press this any further, instead nodding as she reached across to lift a pencil and paper from the table. She wrote something down on it, then looked back at Etcetera. "Do you feel useful?" She asked with a quite clear change of topic, before adding: "Do you feel confident? Loved?"

Etcetera felt like crying again. She did not feel any of those things, and if her complete failure to answer was not evidence of this, the fact that she covered her face with her paws and made some quiet sobbing noises certainly was. Etcetera did not give any direct answers, and though Demeter tried to ask a few more questions, all she could manage was more tears.

Demeter placed the paper down and reached out to hug Etcetera. It was a tight hug, the kind that is usually reserved for those who really need it. "I get it." She said simply, not wanting to worry the other queen. "We don't need to continue with any of that. I'm just ashamed that we let you down so terribly."

Now _that _surprised Etcetera. The shock of those words were enough to stun her out of self-pity, as she looked up to make eye-contact with Demeter for the first time. "What do you mean?" She asked, the fur around her wide eyes damp from the tears. "You didn't – I mean, I let _you _down, not the other way around-"

"No." This time, Demeter did not let her finish. "What is really important right now is that you understand that this is not your fault. The way you feel right now, and anything that you might have done as a result of the way you feel, is absolutely in no way your fault. It is my fault, it is Munkustrap's fault. It is Jennyanydots' fault, Jellylorum's fault... it is the fault of every single cat who failed to notice that you were in trouble, and it is the fault of all of us that we allowed things to get this bad."

Those were the words that Etcetera needed to hear. She reacted positively, shifting to wrap her own arms around Demeter and return the hug. It was a silent acceptance of those words, which made Demeter smile as it was the first step towards some kind of recovery. Right now, the way she felt was surely exacerbated by all kinds of things, and Demeter was certain that Etcetera would feel slightly better in the morning. "It is late." She said with her calming voice. "You need to sleep."

Etcetera nodded and broke away from the hug, getting to her feet – but she found that Demeter stood too.

"Hey... um, stop." Demeter said, placing a paw on Etcetera's shoulder. "You're not going anywhere. Tonight, you can stay in this room. It's a happy room."

Etcetera shook her head as she had done before, folding her arms. "I don't want to." Was her childish reply. "I want my own bed."

Demeter folded her arms as well, taking a step to stand between Etcetera and the door. "You are staying in this room tonight, in this lovely bed, where I will be only a few paw-steps away all night long."

"That's really like, not... I don't need that, it's fine-"

"Okay, I need to be clear on something." Demeter unfolded her arms and reached out to seem less defensive. She held the other queen's paws and gave a stern expression. "Earlier, you told me that you sometimes feel so terrible that you think about hurting yourself, possibly killing yourself. If you are having those thoughts, I cannot allow you to be alone. Not for a while."

The reality of this was only just setting in for Etcetera, though she did not fight back as Demeter had been expecting. Instead, she simply sat on the bed, not doing anything to pull away from Demeter's touch. This was another good sign.

"You can stay in this room for a few days while we try and work out something more permanent." Demeter smiled as she gave Etcetera's paws a small squeeze, a kind of reward for doing the right thing. "Hopefully we can see if anyone in the tribe would like someone to share their den with, and go from there. We won't tell anyone why, okay? We'll just say that you'd like someone to stay with for a little while."

Etcetera sighed and nodded, accepting that this was the right thing to do. She knew now that there was no going back from what she had said, but she did not feel too much regret for making this decision. Yet as Demeter released her paws and made to leave the room, Etcetera stopped her. "But... but where are you going to sleep?"

The question surprised Demeter, who gave Etcetera an incredulous smile. "This isn't my bedroom... Munkustrap and I share a room." She smirked and lifted a picture from the wall before handing it to Etcetera. "This is where Jemima sleeps whenever she stays with us for a few days."

Etcetera took the picture. It had clearly been framed a while ago, and it was a very simple drawing. The drawing was of two cats, one with gold colours and the other red/black colours. Etcetera felt herself smile for the first time. It was a drawing by a kitten, possibly four or five-years-old. "This is cute."

Demeter smiled again. "Go to sleep as best as you can, okay? I'll be back in an hour or so just to check in on you, and make sure that you're trying. I'll bring you something to drink, too." She paused briefly, weighing up an action before just going for it. Maintaining that warm expression, Demeter leaned forwards and kissed Etcetera on the top of her head. It was a small act, but quite an intimate one, that led to a sudden hug.

Soon enough, Demeter followed through on her words and left the room, closing the door behind her. She hoped that Etcetera would sleep through the night, though she was convinced that this would be fixable. Whatever had happened to lead to this, even if it was some kind of accidental neglect, could be remedied. It would just take time.

As Etcetera lied in that bed, staring out of the window and counting the stars in the sky, she wondered if this is what it would have felt like to have real parents when she was growing up.

* * *

The following morning, Rumpleteazer hammered her fist on the door to Etcetera's den. "Hey! Wake it and shake it!"

No answer.

"Hey, like, are you there or whatever? It's me, your girlfriend! I'm really sorry about last night, I was wondering if you'd wanna hang out or something?"

Still, no answer.

"Hey! Etty! Wake it! Seriously, like, get out of bed you lazy whatever and come talk to me!"

She had practically shouted that last part, which would no doubt annoy any others who still wanted to be asleep this early in the morning. But hey, it was dawn. The sun was out. Rumpleteazer would firmly and adamantly deny that she had been wide awake all night waiting for the sun to rise so that she could make up with her girlfriend, though the bags under her eyes and the weary way she stood would refute that claim.

After calling out a number of times with no response, Rumpleteazer reasoned that Etcetera was simply a heavy sleeper. Quite desperate to make amends after their fight the night before, Rumpleteazer placed her paw against the door and closed her eyes, feeling it unlock and open of its own accord.

Upon entering the den, Rumpleteazer was surprised to find it empty. She had expected Etcetera, curled up in her thick duvet, looking peaceful and happy. Instead she was greeted by nothing, an empty room with an unmade bed that clearly hadn't been touched since yesterday. With no bright-eyed and excitable queen there to lighten the place up, it looked bleak and gloomy. No hint of happiness or sunshine, just a dark room with hardly any sunlight.

"I'm sorry, Etty." Rumpleteazer said to the empty room, looking down at the floor. Right now, all that she wanted was her partner, and she felt nothing other than foolish for their argument the night before – but then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something. The room was decorated sparingly, to say the least, and with so few decorations she could not help but notice the pile of papers in the corner.

Or, more specifically, the drawing on top of the pile. As she approached, Rumpleteazer saw a few other things – various colouring pencils, crayons, brushes and paints. For a brief moment, she wondered if Etcetera had been hiding a wild artistic talent, but upon approaching the pile she realised that was not the case. She flicked through them.

The first drawing, the one that she had noticed, was a sketch of Jemima and Victoria – she could tell because of the colours. The next drawing appeared to be Plato, then Munkustrap, then Tugger, then Tugger, then Tugger... she laughed quietly, completely unsurprised by the sheer number of drawings of the Rum Tum Tugger. She estimated that there were a few hundred drawings in that pile, and at least a quarter were of that one tom.

Though she did not think that the art was incredible, she did not doubt that Etcetera had been trying very hard. The pile appeared to be organised chronologically, and she wondered after a while if Etcetera had ever even looked at her own drawings before, because many of them were in a pristine condition. The lower down the pile she went, the worse the drawings got, which suggested they had been drawn and placed on top of each other for a while.

The final picture was the weirdest. It was the only drawing that was not an attempt at copying real-life, instead it was a close-up of a face, seemingly mangled and distorted. It was clear to her that this was drawn more recently, as if it had been shoved to the bottom deliberately. Rumpleteazer turned it over, confused by this more than anything, and was shocked by what she saw. A small message, scribbled at the bottom:

_'I hate me.'_

Rumpleteazer turned the paper over to look at the picture again. It worried her that Etcetera could think this of herself, if that was what this was. A kind of grotesque self-portrait, fuelled by apparent hatred. She sighed, deciding that she had seen enough, and slid the picture back on the bottom. Leaving the drawings exactly where she had found them, Rumpleteazer moved the pile slightly to see an envelope slid underneath all the pencils.

She would have left well enough alone, but the most cursory of glances at the envelope (once moving everything else out of the way, of course) showed that it had '_Rumpleteazer_' written across it.

Though it may have been technically possible for her to ignore it, Rumpleteazer almost immediately decided that she needed to see what was inside. She had gone through that entire pile of drawings just to see one of herself, but Etcetera had never drawn one. So, this had to be done. She needed to see it. The letter was addressed to her, after all.

Rumpleteazer reached forwards and opened the envelope. She took out the piece of paper from inside, unfolded it and...

Smiled.

She felt a wave of happiness rush over her as the drawing was everything she wanted it to be. A drawing of her and Etcetera walking paw-in-paw along a busy London road. Someone else might have criticised it for being crudely drawn, but Rumpleteazer found it nothing other than the cutest, most thoughtful thing she had ever seen. It was a gift. A gift for no reason at all.

She looked at the bracelet around her wrist, one of the two matching dragon bracelets, and felt her lip quiver. With no prior warning, Rumpleteazer began to cry. Though it may have been difficult for her to explain to someone exactly why she found herself getting overwhelmed with emotion, there was a very good reason.

Her gifts to Etcetera were things. Items 'permanently borrowed' for a purpose, to give to a queen because she was attracted to her. But thoughts of Etcetera's reactions to both gifts – the pendant and the necklace – stunned her into realising that they had meant far, far more to her than simply being presents. This drawing, this silly little drawing, had not been stolen from a human's house, nor had it been completed in a few minutes. It was filled with details, from the patterns on her fur to the little windows on the buses. No, this drawing had clearly taken a lot of time and a lot of care. It was filled from top-to-bottom with love, and it made Rumpleteazer cry.

Getting to her feet, Rumpleteazer drew a small breath to calm herself. "I am so, so sorry, Etty." She announced to the empty room, hoping somehow that Etcetera might hear her. Placing the drawing down on top of the pile, Rumpleteazer left the den and closed the door behind her. Right now, she was feeling regret in a way she had never felt it before. She had to find Etcetera.

But where could she be? It was still so early, and she _always_ slept in. There was no reason for her not to be there, it was hardly the case that she would be at someone else's-

Rumpleteazer remembered what Etcetera said about Tugger the night before.

She cursed under her breath and stormed towards his den.

All of those pictures suddenly took a dark turn in Rumpleteazer's mind, where the drawings of Tugger went from the actions of a hero-worshipping kitten to the actions of a lust-filled teenager. She felt betrayed, as though her heart had been ripped out of her chest – but also a great sense of shame. She felt guilty that she did not try to stop Etcetera, despite her quite explicit words the night before.

In short, Rumpleteazer felt like an idiot. Even worse, she was about to act like one. She stood outside the den of the Rum Tum Tugger, glaring daggers at the door, her paws balled into fists. And as if that weren't enough...

She was certain that she could hear him.

It was a faint sound from outside the den, but there was no mistaking that there were two cats inside engaging in some kind of physical activity. Blinded by her anger, Rumpleteazer pounded on the door to no response, which only heightened her aggression. She placed her paw on the door, shutting her eyes briefly, but in her state of anger she could not focus. Without magic to open the door, she was forced to resort to an old trick Mungojerrie taught her.

She kicked the door down.

It was a display of brute strength that could only have been caused by a surge of pure adrenaline, admittedly mixed with the useful knowledge of exactly which part of the door to kick. Rumpleteazer stormed into the den, following the sounds coming from a room across the hall – and as she got closer, the noises just got louder until they came to an abrupt stop. She launched into the room, her face a perfect picture of fury, then instantly wrinkled her nose at the smell.

As you may have guessed by this point, it was not Etcetera that Tugger was with. Etcetera, of course, was lying in a bed in Munkustrap and Demeter's den, pretending to sleep. She had stolen a few brief moments of slumber that night, but nothing substantial. More than Rumpleteazer in any case, who was allowing her lack of sleep to cloud her judgement.

Rumpleteazer stood tall in the middle of the den, but her confidence took a hit when she looked at the scene around her. There was no physical activity (not anymore, at least), but in the middle of the den lay two toms with rather content looks plastered across their faces – the Rum Tum Tugger and Mistoffelees. And seeing her enter the room, they both took to their feet.

Rumpleteazer turned her head away and apologised profusely, immediately feeling rather stupid for her actions. "Uhm, like, this ain't quite what it looks like I'm guessing, I'll just head off or whatever-"

"You wait right there, bro." Tugger said as he approached, his arms folded and eyebrow raised. "Something is wrong here, I think? I mean... Sparkles, is something wrong here?" His speech was remarkably slurred, the words coming out incredibly slowly. He also seemed quite confused, as though he had not yet worked out that Rumpleteazer should not be stood in his den.

Mistoffelees stepped forwards as well. "I... maybe? Did we invite her over? That sounds like the kind of thing you would do." His voice was also suffering from the same effects as Tugger's. It was around this point that Rumpleteazer recognised what that smell was – catnip. These two cats were high as a pair of kites.

"Yeah, you invited me!" Rumpleteazer blurted out, realising she could easily take advantage of this opportunity. She felt fear subside as relief took its place, and reached out with an open paw. "You guys got any nip for me, hm?"

Tugger laughed as he shook his head. "Nah dude, we finished it off. Anyways, you're here for a reason, yeah?" He stepped closer, bridging the gap between them, before placing his paw against her cheek. Stood toe-to-toe with Rumpleteazer, Tugger grinned widely as he stared into her eyes. "You wanna stick about, kitty? We'll take good care of you..."

Any relief that Rumpleteazer had felt was immediately replaced with fear once again. She had absolutely no interest in sticking around – even if she usually found Tugger attractive (and really, who didn't?), right now he was anything but sexy. Messed-up fur, blood-shot eyes, no suavity or sexiness, just a cat off his face on catnip. She recoiled from his touch, pressing her paws against his chest to push him away. "No thanks." She said, trying to obscure how scared she felt. "I'm looking for Etcetera-"

"Well, unless she's dyed her fur black and grown a dick, I'm pretty confident this ain't her."

Mistoffelees pushed Tugger gently to make him stop, then tilted his head at Rumpleteazer. "If you're looking for her... why are you here? I mean, seriously Rumpleteazer... nah... heehee... RUMP-leteazer...hehehe!" It was around that point that he burst into a fit of giggles, clutching at Tugger for support so that he did not fall to the ground. His giggling of course frustrated Rumpleteazer, but not as much as Tugger's next actions would.

For Tugger, who at this point was still heavily under the influence of catnip, reached out again and grabbed Rumpleteazer's arm. Staring directly into her eyes, his happy expression seemed to turn into something far more sinister. "Listen kitten, I'm only gonna say this once – either you stick around for playtime with me, or I'm gonna go find my brother and tell him about you breaking in-"

A flood of emotions clouded Rumpleteazer's already fuzzy judgement. How could he even have worked it out? He seemed perfectly happy to accept that they just forgot about asking her to visit. She was getting very worked up, but as his words continued and the paw gripped her arm, things became untenable. Disgusted and appalled by the attempted blackmail, Rumpleteazer became furious.

In a moment of pure anger, the queen released a loud, pained scream at the top of her lungs. Both Tugger and Mistoffelees recoiled in surprise, but there was an even greater surprise to come. Completely unbeknownst to Rumpleteazer, the scream had an incredible effect than she had not anticipated. It triggered a burst of magic from deep inside her, like a shockwave that rocketed throughout the room, throwing everyone backwards.

Stunned by her own actions, Rumpleteazer slowly got to her feet. The room had been messy before, but now it was like a warzone. Things were scattered and shattered across the floor, and neither Tugger nor Mistoffelees were moving. She was breathing heavily, shaking her head while she stared at them. Were they dead? Had she just murdered two of the most beloved cats in the tribe? She would be exiled, her life would be-

Mistoffelees sat up.

Rumpleteazer breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Tugger begin to move too, but panic began to set in for a completely different reason. Terrified that they would hurt her, terrified that her own magic was coming out like this, Rumpleteazer turned and ran.

She ran as fast as she could, bursting into her own den and collapsing onto her bed.

But being in this room only meant one thing – a wave of sadness washed over her. She turned to see Mungojerrie sat against the wall, looking desolate. Shared emotions. Shared pain. So why was it that he did not seem to be getting any of her emotions? She found this remarkably unfair.

A morning of exhaustion, emotions rollercoastering every way seemingly possible, and what did she have to show for it? Nothing. And worst of all?

She still missed Etcetera terribly.


End file.
